Lila's Big Happy Family
by ROCkER.JACkSON
Summary: With Lila's health slowly failing her, her deathbed approaching at a steady rate, she realizes what she must do. Lila must bring together her big complicated family and mold them into the family she knows they can be before death claims her. As if dealing with a bunch of Quartermaines/Morgans/Ahstons wasn't enough, she decides to play matchmaker for Liason. What could go wrong?
1. Chapter 1

Staring out at the pouring rain, Lila Quartermaine thinks back on the long life she has lived, finally able to accept that the end was no longer years away, but rapidly coming her way. She no longer fears death or leaving the world, no, she has accepted that even she couldn't live forever.

Her fears lie not with her own mortality, but with her loved ones that she will be leaving behind. It was no secret that she was the one keeping this family together, a truth that she must find a way to fix so that they realized they needed each other, even without her presence.

With a soft sigh, Lila's mind travels to her grandsons, both equally loathe the other and she couldn't even fathom a way to fix that chasm. There was still so much mending to be done, so much mistakes that needed to be rectified, that she just couldn't allow herself to give into the inevitable.

No. Lila Quartermaine refuses to leave this world with her family in the shape it is in. The question now was how she will be able to bring them all together again. Make them see that none of their differences mattered because family is diverse, but solid as one.

"Miss Lila." Reginald kneels down beside his boss and friend. "Are you ready for bed?"

"Not quite yet, Reginald, dear." Lila pats his hand softly. "There are a few things I'd like to do before I retire to bed. Wheel me over to the desk, will you?"

"Of course, Miss Lila." Reginald says without hesitation, unlocking the brace before wheeling her to said desk and locking the brace again. "I'll be in later to check on you again."

"Thank you, dear." Lila smiles softly, having truly appreciated Reginald's presence in her life.

Realizing what had to be done, Lila pulls out various pieces of letter paper and begins the first stage of her plans. The only way to get everyone here was with the truth and she will blackmail them emotionally if that's what it'll take.

Her grandson, Jason, has decided to marry a woman Lila would never have seen coming. Maybe it was wrong, but she wouldn't let him make the wrong choice, which added one last person to her list of visitors. If Jason was truly serious about this woman he has planned to marry, inviting a certain brunette artist would not make a difference.

Telling Reginald of her plans, Lila hands him the handful of envelopes and requests that he send them out first thing in the morning. Satisfied with the steps she has taken so far, Lila agrees for Reginald to take her up to bed, the rest of what she has planned will be put into place once she gets confirmation from those she has written to.

For now, she will retire to her bed and gain enough energy to face the morning.

"Mother, are you sure about this?" Alan, her son, asks her the next morning. "You do know that it will be utter chaos in this house with everyone staying here, don't you?"

"Honestly, Alan, would it really be much of a difference from the everyday life here?" Ned, her grandson, counters. "This family uses any little thing to fling into utter chaos."

"Fair enough." Alan relents, sitting down for breakfast. "I just hope you know what you're doing, mother."

"I know exactly what I'm doing." Lila assures, smiling as the rest of the family enter the dining room, having settled with her plans and gracefully accepting. "This family is far too broken for my liking and I will see to it that we are banded as one before my time comes."

**- - - AJ Quartermaine - - -**

Trudging to the door, running a weary hand down his face, AJ bends over to pick up the mail on the floor by the door, along with the newspaper. Seeing one letter with familiar handwriting, AJ quickly makes his way to the kitchen to pour himself a cup of coffee before sitting down to read the letter that was clearly from his grandmother.

"AJ." his wife whines, sauntering into the kitchen, finding him at the table. "Why are you up so early?"

"Quiet for a sec." AJ says seriously, reading through the letter and shocked at what it entails. His grandmother is dying...not just sick, but dying. What a way to start of his morning. "Oh, god."

"What is it?" she asks him curiously, seeing the shock on his face. "AJ?"

"Pack your stuff." AJ says firmly. "We're going to be staying at my family home for a while."

"What?" she exclaims. "But you hate your family and they hate you...why would you want to subject yourself to that?"

"They're still family." AJ states through gritted teeth. "My grandmother wants the family together and that's exactly what she's going to get. Now either pack up your stuff and join me with my family or I'll go by myself. Your choice."

"Fine...okay? Fine." she shakes her head, rolling her eyes as she walks out of the kitchen to do as he demanded.

While his wife goes to pack her things, AJ thinks about what this will mean for his family. Losing his grandmother will have a ripple affect through the entire family, making it all the way to his brother. Though he and Jason weren't the closest of brothers, AJ could only imagine how hard this will hit him. A part of him hoping that they'll at least be able to be civil for their grandmother's sake.

**- - - Emily Quartermaine-Cassadine - - -**

After the most amazing anniversary ever, Emily saunters down the stairs to where her husband awaits her. Their usual breakfast greets her as she walks into the dining room, her hunk of a husband rising to his feet to greet her.

"Good morning, Mrs. Cassadine." Nikolas, her husband, kisses her soundly before pulling out her chair. "How did you sleep last night?"

"Perfectly." she replies, smiling at him. "What about you, Mr. Cassadine? How did you sleep?"

"Soundly." he replies, laughing softly with her at their usual morning teasing. "This came for you early this morning."

"Huh...its Grandmother's handwriting." Emily takes the envelope from him, opening it with haste, needing to know what her grandmother wanted and why she had sent it in the mail.

Rushing through it, Emily had to go back and read again, this time slowly and carefully. Her heart caught in her throat, Emily couldn't believe the words that were written in her grandmother's beautiful penmanship. This couldn't really be happening. It couldn't be.

"What's wrong?" Nikolas kneels down beside her, taking her hands in his. "What is it?"

"We have to pack up our stuff." Emily says in a quiet voice. "Grandmother wants the family together while she's still well enough to spend time with everyone...she's dying Nik...she's really dying."

"Oh, baby." Nikolas wraps his arms around her as the tears fall hard. "We'll leave after breakfast...I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

**- - - Jason Morgan - - -**

Trudging into his penthouse, having spent the whole night - straight into the morning - keeping tabs on a growing threat, Jason just wanted to down a couple beers before calling it a night. What he wasn't expecting when he got home was the letter that sat for him on his desk.

Immediately he recognizes the writing, his heart tightening at the sight of it, prompting him to plop down on the chair to read it. The fatigue fades off into the background as the words start to register in his tired mind. His heart completely breaks as he finishes reading the letter.

Admittedly, he'd rather get shot a thousand times, set on fire and chopped in pieces before he ever willingly lived at 66th Harbor View Road, but he didn't have a choice now. For his grandmother, Jason will swallow his pride and spite long enough to do what she wanted.

With her health failing her, Jason couldn't deny her anything. Hearing his fiancee walking down the stairs, Jason turns to see her smile slightly before placing herself on his lap. It was no secret that she didn't like his family anymore than he does, but he hopes she'll endure them with him.

"Where you go, I go." she says without hesitation. "Jason, I know how much you love your grandmother, I barely know her, but she's always been so sweet to me. Of course, I'll go live there with you."

"Thanks, Sam." he says softly, laying his head against her shoulder. "Knowing them, this is going to be hell and I'd rather not go through it alone."

"You're never alone...not as long as I'm here." she assures him, hugging him close. "Now, I'll go pack our stuff and we can head over, okay?"

"Okay." he shakes his head, allowing her to walk back up the stairs.

Sam couldn't believe that she would have to live at the Quartermaine mansion, those people hate her just as much as she hates them, but she knows that he will do whatever his grandmother wanted and that meant she would have to, as well. Hopefully it wouldn't be that horrific.

The part of the letter that he didn't tell Sam about, the part that had him more than wary, was that Lila invited his first girlfriend to stay with them. In spite of everything that has gone down between them, Jason felt a shadowing need to see her again. Touching the tattoo on the side of his neck, lost in thought, Jason smiles slightly at the memory of the day they had gotten it done. Her version of teenage rebellion.

He has kept up to date with her career, keeping newspaper and magazine clippings whenever she had a huge accomplishment, but he's never spoken to her or seen her since the day they broke up. While they ended on bad terms, Jason can only hope that - with all the years apart - they can at least be civil, if not friendly.

**- - - Elizabeth Webber - - -**

Tossing her keys into the bowl by the door, Elizabeth shrugs out of her coat and hangs it up on the hook. Like every morning for the last month, her boyfriend greets her at the door, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her soundly.

Normally that was the best way for her to be greeted, but a letter on the table caught her eye and prompted her to push him away. When he looked confused by what she had done, she simply shakes her head and picks up the letter. Every part of her shocked to see that delicate handwriting, memories following the thought of the beautiful woman.

This couldn't be real, she thought, reading and rereading the letter, sure that there must have been a mistake. That her mind was screwing with her and the letter had said something else. Her boyfriend stands by, confused as tears remain frozen in her eyes, this couldn't be real.

Yet there was the letter, the request clearly written for her eyes to read, its real. Shutting her eyes tightly against the tears, Elizabeth couldn't give a damn that her first love would be there, that she'd have to live in the same house as him, all she cares about is Lila.

Touching the tattoo on the side of her neck, she smiles slightly, remembering the day they had gotten it done. She had wanted a symbol of her coming of age and a way to get back at her grandmother, thus was born the his and her tattoos. It was poetic, really.

"What is it?" her boyfriend asks, wrapping his arms around her.

"Lila's dying." she says bluntly, needing it to really hit home. "She wants her family to stay with her while she's still able to be with them...she's asked that I join them."

"You should." he says without hesitation. "We can postpone your showings long enough for you to be there for her."

"Can you handle that?" she looks at him carefully. "I need to pack and book us two seats on the next flight out."

"You want me to go with you?" he asks her curiously.

"Do I have to ask?" she counters, eyeing him intently.

"Its just that...my career is just..."

"Whatever, Ric." she sighs, running a weary hand down her face. "Just handle the showings and I'll handle my flight home."

"Elizabeth, honey, you know I'd go with you if I could..."

"Save it." she says firmly. "I have a lot to do and little time to do it in."

Walking away from her boyfriend, Elizabeth makes her way to her bedroom and packs up her stuff while she calls for a ticket on the first flight to Port Charles. Its been years since she has stepped foot in Port Charles and she knew that this would prove to be interesting.

After all, her presence is sure to cause a variety of different reactions from the locals. Yup. This was going to be interesting to say the least. Normally she'd decline the offer, but this was Lila that's doing the requesting and Elizabeth couldn't deny her anything. Even if it put her right back into the thick of her very complicated, crazy past.


	2. Chapter 2

Over the next two days, various members of Lila's family have flown in from various countries and continents, those living in Port Charles having moved in the day they received their letters. The house has been relatively calm, albeit this was a Quartermaine gathering and fights have broken out more than once, but nothing too severe. A few members of the family have been taking on the responsibility of keeping the peace, mostly Emily Quartermaine-Cassadine, Ned Ashton, Skye Quartermaine, and Chloe Morgan.

Everyone wanted to know what Lila planned to do now that she had her family with her, but she refuses to divulge anything until everyone has arrived. Of course, the mention that more have yet to come, caused new fights to ripple through the generations, all wondering who else could be coming and why they haven't arrived yet.

Alan's branch of family have all arrived, his sons (AJ/Jason) and daughters (Emily/Skye), along with himself and his wife. Added onto their group are AJ's wife, Courtney Matthews-Quartermaine, Jason's fiancee Sam McCall, and Emily's husband Nikolas Cassadine.

Tracy Quartermaine's branch of family are complete, as well. Her eldest son, Ned Ashton, along with her barely legal son, Dillon Quartermaine. Knowing that her family isn't the one being waited upon, Tracy was growing more impatient by the second, though everyone doubts that's even possible since Tracy was never patient to begin with. Added to her children are Ned's wife, Lois, and their barely legal daughter, Brook Lynn.

Other's scattered about would include Justus Ward, Chloe Morgan, Jasper Jacks, and Michael Corinthos III. Still, with the diverse collection of family members, two more guests have yet to arrive and Lila was growing worrisome that they'll be able to get back home.

"Brenda?" Elizabeth approaches the famous model, a bright smile on her face.

"Elizabeth!" Brenda exclaims, wrapping her arms around her favorite artist. "The last time I saw you we were both in Milan. How have you been?"

"I've been great. I had more than a few showings coming up, but I've had to postpone them." Elizabeth concedes, walking up the pathway with her friend. "What about you?"

"I had a few runway shows, a couple photo shoots, and a bunch of publicity stunts, but I put it off." Brenda smiles, knowing just how important their careers are to them. "Anything for Lila, right?"

"Right." Elizabeth smiles fondly. "Its pretty quiet...you think anyone's been killed yet?"

"Probably." Brenda laughs softly, tapping her knuckles against the door. "I think they're in the middle of finding a good place to dump the body."

"Or they're taking it to the morgue's incinerator." Elizabeth supplies, shaking her head. "Then again, with Jason in the house, they could just leave it to him."

"It was probably him that did the killing." Brenda counters, both women laughing when Reginald opens the door and looks at them a little shocked at the topic of conversation.

"Hi, Reggie." Elizabeth greets, smiling at the butler.

"Miss Elizabeth, Miss Brenda." Reginald steps aside, allowing them entrance. "Please, do come in."

Stepping into the foyer, Elizabeth and Brenda's assumptions were put to rest when they heard the muffled sound of arguments going on in the living room. Typical for the Quatermaine estate, the two would fear the worst if the family were being pleasant with each other.

"Miss Lila, they've arrived." Reginald says in a hushed tone to Lila. "I've sent them straight to the study, like you asked."

"Thank you, Reginald." Lila replies, truly thankful that they've made it. "Keep an eye on this bunch, will you?"

"Of course, Miss Lila." Reginald says without hesitation, watching as the elder woman wheeled herself out of the room, completely unnoticed by the bunch.

Other than Jason, of course, who pulls Reginald aside to know where Lila had gone off to. Making her way to the study, Lila lets herself inside, finding the two women that she had been waiting for. Brenda Barrett and Elizabeth Webber.

"Lila." Elizabeth says softly, walking over to the woman and kissing her cheek. "Its so good to see you again."

"I know what you mean, my dear." Lila replies fondly, giving the same sentiment to Brenda when the model kissed her cheek. "I'm sure you two are curious about why I separated you from the others and I'll explain."

Both younger women take a seat in front of Lila as the older woman explained her reasoning for stealing some private time with them before thrusting them among the rest of the family. First and foremost, she had missed them dearly. With their demanding careers, that they both loved and are passionate about, Lila hasn't seem them all the much over the years.

They've made it a point to visit her as much as they could, always taking flights that went through New York when they could, but it didn't happen nearly enough. Both women love Lila more than they could ever describe and it was killing them to know that her time is counting down.

The other reason being that she needed their help to fix her family. Lila knows better than anyone that these two women had a ripple affect on her family, where one is disliked the other is loved and vice versa. It'll prove to be a good thing to have them both among her family.

After explaining her plan to both women, Lila had Brenda step out into the hall while she spoke to Elizabeth. Of course, being singled out, she was little nervous to find out what Lila wanted with her, but Elizabeth wouldn't voice any of it.

"I won't lie to you, dear." Lila says carefully. "I didn't only invite you to help me with my plans...I also invited you for Jason's sake."

"Lila..." she tries to find a way to tell her that there wasn't anything there, but Lila continued on before the words formed.

"I know what the end was like for both of you and I know how hard it can be to forgive." Lila explains, taking her hands on hers. "But I also know that you still love each other...don't bother denying it."

"I'm with someone else, Lila." she counters, trying to get the other woman to understand. "And he's getting married...there's nothing there."

"Humor me, then, will you?" Lila amends, needing her grandson to be sound in his decision. "I don't want him making a mistake."

"I'll help you with the family, but Jason...I can't." Elizabeth sighs, wishing that she could give the woman what she wants, but knowing it wasn't right. "If Jason changes his mind about his fiancee along the way...then it'll be his choice. I won't do anything to influence his decision."

"Fair enough." Lila smiles slightly, getting exactly what she had been hoping for. "Lets get back to the others, shall we?"

With her two helpers beside her, Lila returns to the family, finding them in yet another session of scattered arguments. The teenagers are off to the side, doing their thing, messing around on their phones and computers while the adults attack each other over old grudges.

Surprisingly enough, AJ and Jason weren't amongst those arguing, both standing to the side - simply watching the fights commence. Sam and Courtney, well, they're just gossiping amongst each other, completely oblivious to the chaos around them.

The first to notice them, when she managed to look away from the arguments, was Emily. A slow, bright smile, touching her lips when she saw the three women in the doorway. Walking away from the group she was trying to manage, Emily rushed right into Elizabeth's waiting arms.

That's when the rest of the room went silent, taking in the last of the invited guests, various thoughts and feelings scattered through the room. Tracy, well, she just wasn't happy to see either women. Neither of them on her good side, not that they wanted to be.

"I thought you had a busy schedule for the next two months." Emily comments as she pulled away.

"I did." Elizabeth confirms, smiling slightly. "Family comes first, remember?"

"Yeah...I remember." Emily shakes her head. "I'm glad you could come."

"Me, too." Elizabeth replies, turning her attention to the others as Emily greeted Brenda.

As hushed conversations pick up throughout the room, Elizabeth made her way to the silent brothers, gaining the attention of their other halves. She couldn't care less about the two women, her attention solely on AJ and Jason.

"AJ." she says softly, smiling as the brother scooped her up into his arms, holding her close. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you, too." he replies, burying his face in the curvature of her neck, still unable to believe what has brought them all together like this. "I'm glad you're here."

"Elizabeth." Jason voices when she pulls away from his brother.

"Jason." she counters, eyeing her ex-boyfriend...her first boyfriend.

AJ felt a little out of place when they didn't say much more than that for a while. He was about to walk away when his wife and future sister-in-law walked over to them, both eyeing Elizabeth like she was some kind of threat.

"Who's this?" Sam questions, looking at Elizabeth intently.

"Elizabeth Webber." Elizabeth takes her eyes away from Jason to address the two women. "I'm a friend of the family."

"Well, this is a family gathering." Courtney counters with confidence. "You should visit another time."

"Elizabeth's going to be staying in the house." Jason supplies, looking at his fiancee. "She grew up with Emily...they're practically sisters."

"Right." Elizabeth shakes her head, smiling slightly at the sight of Jason's tattoo. "You must be AJ's wife that I've heard so much about...Courtney, right?"

"Yeah." Courtney looks at her curiously.

"And that would make you Sam?" Elizabeth turns her gaze on Sam, curiosity taking hold as she looked the woman over subtly. "Its nice to finally meet you both."

"Sure." Sam says through tight lips, knowing she hates the woman because of the way her fiance looks at her.

"Elizabeth..." Jason gestures to the back doors, needing to talk to her alone.

"Sure." Elizabeth says, granting the small group of a smile before walking off, hearing as Jason excused himself from his fiancee before joining her. "I thought you'd get that removed by now."

"What?" Jason looked at her confusedly before she pointed at the tattoo. "Oh...why would I do that?"

"You didn't want it in the first place." she reminds him. "After we broke up...I just figured you'd get it removed, that's all."

"Well I didn't." he says in a hushed tone.

"Obviously." Elizabeth lifts her hair, showing him her tattoo. "Neither did I."

That caught him by surprise, her pictures in the magazines and newspapers had him believing that she had hers removed a long time ago. Then something Brenda had said about publicity echoed in his mind, making him realize that she had simply covered it up.

"So...why the need for privacy?" Elizabeth says curiously. "I'm supposed to be doing crowd control."

"Sam...she doesn't know about you." Jason says carefully. "I mean, I never told her about you...or us."

"Ah." Elizabeth finally gets what he's getting at. "And you want to keep it that way?"

"I didn't mean it like that..."

"Its fine, Jason." Elizabeth waves away his concern. "There's no sense in trudging up the past. Its done and we've both moved on."

"There you are." Brenda says from the doorway. "I need your help in here...you just about done here?"

"More than done." Elizabeth eyes Jason intently before walking over to Brenda. "I'm all yours."

"Great!" Brenda takes her by the hand, guiding her back into the house and leaving a confused Jason in their wake.

It was no secret that he sucked with words, but that didn't go at all how he had planned it. He wanted to tell Elizabeth that Sam didn't know what she was to him, but that he would find a way to break it to his fiancee because he knew it was inevitable now.

That didn't even sound right either. With a sigh, Jason runs a weary hand down his face, this was going to be a very complicated stay. Before he could head back inside, his fiancee comes walking over to him, a curious look in her eyes.

"I didn't know you had famous people in your family." Sam comments, wrapping her arms around him. "I mean, that Elizabeth woman isn't really family, but she seems to be close enough."

"What?"

"That Elizabeth woman, she's a famous artist and that other one...Brenda, she's a famous model." Sam explains, knowing he was wondering what she meant. "That's pretty cool."

"Chloe's a famous designer...Ned and his daughter Brook Lynn are relatively famous singers...Lois is a famous record producer..." Jason ticks off other members of his family. "Its not a big deal."

"Not to you maybe." Sam laughs softly. "I still think that's so cool...having so many accomplished people in one family."

Once again the arguments picked up within the living room, Lila simply looking on as various people raised their voices, trying to one up each other. Edward's currently arguing with Jasper Jax, prompting Justus to jump in and argue with the old man, not liking the topic of conversation.

Brenda looked at Elizabeth, who looked at Emily, and the three of them came up with the perfect plan. With a nod, Elizabeth smiles at Lila before walking over to the sound system and blasting the music once she picked out Brenda, Emily, and her favorite song. The one that they've danced around in their pajamas to, singing at the top of their lungs, during their high school days.

"U can't touch this!" the three women shout, dancing around the living room, much to the shock of everyone else.

Chloe and Skye start laughing as the three of them dance crazily through the room, grabbing various partners, joining in on the dance as Tracy stands fuming. Lila couldn't help but laugh softly as Elizabeth took Edward's hands and pulled him into a dance.

The old man was fuming only moments before, but soon loosened up as Elizabeth danced him around.

"Come on, Edward!" Elizabeth exclaims, laughing aloud. "You can do better than that! You've rocked this with us more than once."

The older man blushed slightly before letting go of proper etiquette and let loose. From straight up fighting with each other, the family were laughing and smiling, more than a few joining in on the craziness that only Emily, Elizabeth, and Brenda could create.

"This is ridiculous!" Tracy exclaims, seeing her two sons joining in on the dance. "You've all gone crazy!"

"What the..." Sam was shocked to come back into the living room and find the three women sing aloud as everyone danced around to the song. "What's going on?"

"They are what's going on." Jason gestures to his sister, Brenda, and Elizabeth. "You might need to get used to this...they have a strange way of handling the family."

"I don't think I've ever seen Edward smiling so much." Sam comments as they walk back over to AJ and Courtney.

"That's because he rarely ever does when they're not here." AJ admits, watching his family fondly, knowing its been forever since the family were all laughing as one.

"STOP!" Elizabeth shouts, laughing as Brenda makes her way over to her, both shouting, "HAMMER TIME!"

"No, no, no." AJ shakes his head when Elizabeth takes hold of his hands. "Liz, no."

"Come on...you know you want to." Elizabeth arches her eyebrow defiantly. "Let loose AJ...come on!"

And just like that, AJ let her pull him into the crowd, dancing around like they did when they were teenagers. For the time being, the family have stopped their arguing, opting to just enjoying the sudden burst of dancing and laughter that they've found themselves in. And in that moment, Lila truly believes that, with the help of her lovely girls, she can really put her family back together as one.


	3. Chapter 3

While the family are having dinner in the large dining room, Elizabeth, Brenda, and Emily are in the study going over their plans. It was no secret that the family had A LOT of complicated history that comes with betrayals and broken promises. The question now was how they are going to get everyone to mend the hurt and build new bridges that will inevitably reconnect the clan.

The easiest past to jot down is AJ and Jason's. It was all about AJ's guilt and Jason's inability to give AJ what he so desperately needed. Forgiveness. Because Jason Quartermaine can never return, AJ will never be able to gain the forgiveness he needs for what he had done to his brother.

Then AJ had the unfortunate fate of sleeping with Jason's girlfriend, Carly Benson, and the chasm just got deeper and deeper. Wider and wider. Jason broke things off with an irate Carly and his rocky relationship with AJ never recovered.

The brothers' problems, though easy to pinpoint, will be hard to amend. Not because of the actual deeds committed, but because both brothers didn't do forgiveness that well. While Jason couldn't care less about his brother, AJ cared too much and -in his love for his brother- despised the very life he had chosen.

Then there's the complicated relationships that Tracy has with any given member of the family. Though she seems like a hard ass, Tracy really wasn't that bad, if you knew where to look. Obviously the three of them had no idea how deep that good part is, but Dillon assures that she does have that good side.

Alan, though he'd never admit to it, he blames AJ for Jason being the way he is. Thus causing the rift between father and son, adding the guilt onto AJ more and more. The solution to that is to find a way to help AJ forgive himself. That in itself is a feat not easily accomplished.

Of course, most of Alan's hatred lies with Sonny, for bringing his son into the chaotic life known as the mob. For as long as he lives, Alan will never stop hating Sonny for all the pain that his stupid decision caused. Which, of course, had the three women wondering where Robin Scorpio fit into everything.

If not for her, Jason would have never known Sonny Corinthos, probably wouldn't have stayed in Port Charles as long as he did. Had Elizabeth not been around, each of them are certain that Robin would have been Jason's first girlfriend.

While the other two discuss the complicated family members currently housed in the Quartermaine mansion, Elizabeth's mind travels back to the first time she met Jason Morgan. At first it had been hard to distance her Jason from the Jason he became, which was why she kept her distance after he woke up.

When she finally had the courage to come face to face with him, Elizabeth had realized it was easier to see him as Jason Morgan because he was completely different. Smiling slightly, she replays their first moment in her mind, remembering it fondly.

_The day was smoldering hot, one of the hottest days Port Charles had that year and Elizabeth was in desperate need of something cold to drink. She knew she wouldn't be able to survive long enough to get to the Quartermaine mansion for her study session with Emily._

_She was walking in when she noticed Jason paying for his coffee. She had been nervous, completely nervous to the bone, but her feet still moved. She could tell that he wasn't in the mood to deal with anyone, much less someone from his past life, and that gave her pause._

_"Jason." she called to him when he brushed past her._

_"Look, I know you knew him, I'm sorry for your loss." Jason snaps, glaring at her. "I don't have time to hear you talk about how the family misses me or how Keesha is heart broken!"_

_"I was just going to say that you dropped your wallet." Elizabeth says, holding it up for him to see._

_That had stunned him for a second before he moved forward to take it from her._

_"Thanks." he says in a hushed tone, making her smile grow a little wider._

_"You're welcome." she replies simply, placing the wallet in his hand._

_Jason stared at her for a long moment, making her wonder what was going on in his mind, when he retracted his hand and walked to the door. Elizabeth had thought that that would be it, he'd leave and there wasn't anything more to it than that. Then he did something she didn't expect._

_"What's your name?" he says from right behind her, causing her to smile inwardly before turning to him._

_"Elizabeth." she holds out her hand to him, eyeing him softly. "Elizabeth Webber...and you are?"_

_He looked at her confusedly before shaking his head and slipping his hand into hers._

_"Jason Morgan." he replies plainly, obviously trying to sum her up._

_"Nice to meet you, Jason Morgan." she tried to remove her hand from his, but he held it firmly and she just let him._

_"You, too." he replies, holding her hand in his for a moment longer before forcing himself to let it go. "I'm gonna go."_

_"Okay." she couldn't help but smile at that, he was just so to the point. "Maybe I'll see you around?"_

_"Yeah...maybe." he says, walking back to the door, taking one last look at her before leaving. It had definitely went a lot better than she had imagined._

By the time he learnt to truly trust her, Jason had already started working for Sonny and she couldn't do anything to change that. With Robin in one ear and Sonny in the other, Jason was set in his lifestyle and Elizabeth just had to accept him for the man he became.

Of course, that imagining all the ways she could strangle Robin and bury Sonny, she just never expressed any of it. Shaking her head of thoughts of the past, Elizabeth returns to the conversation at hand. Fixing Lila's family before she passes away.

"Okay...so, basically we have to split up the entire family between the three of us." Brenda explains, glancing between Emily and Elizabeth. "I've written all their names down and we each have to split it up according to which of us can help them most."

"Obviously Jason's name can be left off your list." Emily teases Brenda, laughing softly when she just rolls her eyes.

"Obviously, Quartermaine." Brenda says plainly, lifting the list. "I'm gonna call out names and we'll see who gets who."

"Jasper Jacks." Brenda says first.

"All yours." Elizabeth and Emily said at the same time, both laughing at Brenda's slight blush.

"That's just mean." Brenda shakes her head, jotting down Jax's name on her list. "Now...Tracy Quatermaine."

"Not it!" Emily and Brenda shouted at the same time.

"Seriously?" Elizabeth looked at both of them firmly. "What are we...five?"

"You're just mad because you get Tracy." Emily counters, taking the pen from Brenda and giving it to her. "You were too slow...not to mention, you're the best one to help Tracy."

"How could I possibly help Tracy?" Elizabeth counters, arching her eyebrow.

"You're both stubborn and you can give her a firm butt kicking if she needs it." Brenda says simply. "Don't bother denying it."

"Fine." Elizabeth states, jotting down Tracy's name on her list. "Who's next?"

"Justus Ward." Brenda looks at Emily. "He's yours."

"Fine." Emily shakes her head, jotting down Justus's name on her list. "I'll take my parents, too."

"Okay...what about your brothers?" Brenda questions, crossing off Monica and Alan from the family list. "You gonna take them?"

"No." Emily shakes her head. "They won't listen to me. I'm their baby sister, remember?"

"Okay...Elizabeth?" Brenda turns her eyes on her. "You know that Jason wouldn't listen to me even if I was saving his life...you up to taking them?"

"I guess...just add Skye to the list." Elizabeth shrugs, figuring it was a good way to satisfy Lila in some way. "Since miss baby sister won't do it."

"Hey!" Emily threw her a crumpled paper. "They won't listen to me and you know it!"

"I'll handle Chloe and Ned." Brenda pushes forward, needing to get the list settled before they joined the family for dinner. "Now for the teenagers?"

"I'll take Dillon." Elizabeth says as she jots down his name.

"I guess I'll take Brook Lynn." Emily concedes, writing down the teenager's name.

"Okay then...that leaves me with Michael." Brenda says, tossing the main list onto the table. "Edward goes to all three of us...I'm sure you'll all agree it'll take all of us combined."

"Agreed." Elizabeth shakes her head.

"What about the wives and future wives?" Emily counters, knowing she was the only one that'll bring it up.

"If they happen to get into one of the fights, whoever's closest." Brenda says simply. "Our main focus is the family...the family by extension will just have to be dealt with along the way, if necessary."

"Good...we can iron out the rest of the details as we go along." Elizabeth rises to her feet. "Can we agree to eat now?"

"Agreed!" Brenda and Emily exclaim at once, laughing together as they walk out of the study.

Though they were at the other end of the hallway, they could already hear the raised voices coming from the dining room. The family just couldn't take a break, could they? Seeing Lila being wheeled out of the room was the last straw for all three of them.

Kissing the woman's cheek, the three women walk into the dining room and scream at the top of their lungs. Successfully getting everyone to shut up.

"I am so sick of you people fighting!" Elizabeth practically shouts, making sure each of them heard her. "This family has never been this bad before! I mean, fighting over the dinner table?! SERIOUSLY?! What could possibly be that important?!"

"We get that you don't get along!" Brenda takes over, pacing back and forth, along the table. "But this is ridiculous! The dining table was always a place of peace, where everyone stops their damn fighting and enjoys a freaking meal together!"

"I mean, come on! Your fighting drove Lila to leave the table!" Emily glares at her family. "And I bet none of you even noticed!"

"From now on, while you're all staying here, you will abide by a set of rules!" Elizabeth states, daring anyone to contradict her. "The dining room is neutral territory. If you don't have anything nice to say, you shut your mouth and you swallow it! Your voices will not raise over your normal speaking voice and you will respect each other long enough to finish a freaking meal as a family! Anyone who doesn't abide by those rules will be forced to seek food elsewhere! Do you understand me?!"

When a few members of the family tried to challenge her authority, Elizabeth slammed her hands against the table.

"I said, do you understand me?!" she shouts, drowning out the others.

A ripple of agreements sounded through the room, making her step back with a slight smile. Meeting Jason's eye, she could tell that he was quite enjoying their demands on the family, seeing as he already abides by those rules and isn't really affected by it.

"You are here for one reason and one reason only!" Emily says angrily. "For Lila! And until its time for us to back to our own houses, we will all keep in mind that we are a FAMILY! And whether you like it or not, that's not about to change!"

"Yes, this family bonds together against outside threats, but that's not enough!" Brenda exclaims. "Now, we are going to the dining room down the hall to have a peaceful dinner with Lila...anyone who's got their heads on straight and wishes to join us in there, can. If not...stay here and continue your pointless fights. The rules start at breakfast tomorrow!"

With nothing left to say, Elizabeth, Emily, and Brenda tell the staff to transfer the food to the other dining room before leaving the room to be with Lila. Grumbling arguments could be heard, making them doubt that anyone would follow them.

The first out of the dining room, like they could have guessed, was Michael, Jason and AJ with their other halves close behind, followed by Ned, Lois, Skye, Dillon and Brook Lynn. The others joined them in the dining room a good ten minutes later, none speaking out of term and all keeping their voices at a calm level.

"Thank you." Lila says to her three helpers, watching as her family enjoyed their first civil meal together in many years.

"Anytime." the three say without hesitation, joining hands for a moment before enjoying their meals. There road back to a loving family is still a long winding road, but they will fight like hell to give it to Lila before she leaves this world. Each of them owed it to the old woman to save her family from utter destruction. Slowly, but surely, they will get them there.

* * *

**A/N: Roughly a decade since Liason saw each other.**


	4. Chapter 4

Late at night as the other house guests lie asleep, Jason glances over at his fiancee, who's fast asleep like the rest of them. His life has changed so much since he walked away from Elizabeth all those years ago. For a while he had completely given up on dating, then came the Carly fiasco and he wanted to just stay single.

Sam. Well, she snuck her way in when he wasn't looking and somehow he has never been able to get her out of his mind or heart. So...instead of fighting it, Jason decided to do the opposite and gave into her. She had helped him move past a lot of the crap in his life and she helped him open himself up to life again.

Now, as his life was finally gaining a sense of balance, she comes back into his life and disturbs the calm that has taken place. It seemed that she still has the habit of dropping in when he least expects it. Touching the tattoo on the side of his neck, Jason lets out a weary sigh before pulling himself out of bed.

Life had a funny way of paying him back for all the crap he's done over the years. The most recent kick in the ass being his first love and he's certain life's torment on his world has yet to be over with. Jason didn't know what to make Lila's failing health, not that he could think much on it without completely aching inside, but he also didn't know what to make of Elizabeth.

She seemed to be switching between hot and cold with him. When she was yelling at the family in the dining room, she looked at him with that slight smirk that had him almost laughing. She always did have a way of handling the family that had him enjoying his little stints among them.

"Yeah?" Jason answers his cellphone, making his way into the living room, hating the echo that resounds through the house.

"How're things going?" Sonny's voice replies.

"As well as expected." Jason sighs, shaking his head. "A bunch of Quartermaines in one house."

"Enough said." Sonny chuckles, plopping down into his club chair.

"What's going on?" Jason counters, not wanting to talk about what's going on with the family.

"Just checking in." Sonny admits, relaxing against the plush cushion. "How long do you think you'll be living there?"

"Until Lila says otherwise." Jason says seriously.

"And how's Sam handling it?"

"She's fine."

"Even with Elizabeth Webber living there?"

And there it was. The real reason for the call.

"Spit it out, Sonny." Jason states. "I don't have time for your psychological crap."

"I just find it unusual that your ex-girlfriend shows up mere months after you get engaged." Sonny points out. "Are you sure this is merely a coincidence?"

"Lila means a lot to Elizabeth." Jason snaps. "She's like a grandmother to her. Stop making trouble where there isn't any!"

"Relax." Sonny shakes his head, knowing exactly what the reaction meant and not liking it. "I was just making an observation."

"Well stop." Jason says through gritted teeth. "And stay out of my personal life unless you want me passing judgement on yours."

Ending the call, Jason walks over to pour himself a glass of Edward's strongest stuff before plopping down onto the couch. He knows it wasn't right to snap at Sonny like that, but he had no intention in giving a play by play on things going on in the house. Or with Elizabeth.

The last time Jason allowed Sonny to pass judgement on his personal life, Jason almost passed up on Elizabeth. It took everything he had in him to keep going and see if there was something in Elizabeth that he could trust.

_"I'm just saying, man." Sonny pours himself a drink before handing one to Jason. "She's in tight with the Quartermaines. Just because she's not one, doesn't mean she's not loyal to them."_

_"She's different." Jason states, looking at the man that has given him a chance, a life away from 66th and its inhabitants._

_"I know you want to believe she is, but how can you be sure?" Sonny counters, sitting down on his club chair. "Robin seems to think otherwise."_

_"That's her opinion."_

_"Don't be so quick to wave away her advice." Sonny insists. "She knows them better than anyone...including that girl."_

_"Its my life." Jason rises to his feet, more confused than he's ever been and needing to get away. "If I want Elizabeth in it, she'll be in it. Are we done talking business?"_

_"Yeah." Sonny shakes his head. "We're done with business."_

_Granting Sonny a nod, Jason walks out of the penthouse and rushes to his bike. Straddling it, Jason started it up and put the petal to the metal. He had to clear his mind, think clearly, before he made a decision in regard to Elizabeth._

_So far all she has done is listen to him, never giving advice or suggesting anything, just how he liked it. She listened to him think and she left him alone when he needed it. Why wouldn't he want that in his life? Why wouldn't he want someone in his life that actually thinks of him for a change?_

_Spotting Elizabeth in front of a building, carrying a bunch of stuff, Jason pulls his bike over to park by her car. The moment she looked at him, he saw something in her eyes that had him almost stunned, but his body still moved._

_"Jason, hi!" Elizabeth greets him with such happiness. "Out for a ride?"_

_"Yeah." he replies before gesturing to her things. "Need help?"_

_"Sure." Elizabeth hands him a couple bags before shutting her trunk. "Thanks."_

_Walking up to her new studio, Elizabeth tells him all about finding it and how excited she was to finally have an art studio to call her own. He tells her about her dreams to be an artist and how much she loved dreaming of one day making her own dreams come true. _

_Getting to her rundown studio, all Jason saw was a studio that shouldn't have been torched, but she looked at it like it was made of gold. Which made him wish he could see things the way she did. She seemed to see potential in things that otherwise didn't have any._

_"You can just set those down over there." Elizabeth gestures to the desk. "I know it doesn't look like much..."_

_"I can see you like it." he cuts her off. "If you can see something in it, I'm sure there's something more to it than I can see."_

_"The Quartermaines wanted to buy me one of those extravagant studios, but I just couldn't let them." Elizabeth explains, setting her stuff down on the desk. "I know they mean well and all...and I probably offended them on some level...but it wouldn't have meant as much if I wasn't the one that bought it."_

_"You have to do what feels right to you."_

_"I know and that's why I chose this place." Elizabeth turns to him with a smile. "Its just in my price range, with my salary at the diner, and it feels amazing knowing that I'm the one that did it. I don't owe it to the Quartermaines or to my gram...this is all me."_

_And that's when he saw it. That's when he saw just how much this place meant to her and then, he too, could see the gold where there wasn't any. This was a place for her to call her own, a place that she found for herself to help her start off and accomplish her dreams._

_Before he realized it, Jason was telling her about what Robin and Sonny have said. How she didn't see him for him, but as Jason Quartermaine, hoping one day she'll be able to get him back into the thick of the Quartermaine family. What he wasn't ready for was her anger that bubbled to the surface._

_First came an onslaught of curse words towards both Sonny and Robin. Questioning their right in saying what she wanted and what she didn't. What she expected or that she was playing him. She states how he always comes to her and not the other way around._

_How she doesn't search him out, but her door is always open to him. In that moment, in the middle of all her rantings and cursing, Jason found what he had been looking for. He found the ability to trust her. To accept her in his life and to actually want her there._

_"Just wait until I get my hands on those two, I swear..."_

_Before she could finish her threat, Jason closed the distance between them, stopping her from pacing by pulling her into his arms and claiming her lips swiftly. He could tell she was shocked at first, even allowing her to pull away for a moment to look him in the eyes._

_Her eyes went soft, her lips turned up into a slight smile before she reached up to gently touch his cheek with the backs of her fingers. In that moment, he could tell that she felt the same way about him. He didn't need to read her mind because it was vibrant in her eyes._

_Then, once he knew she was ready for him, Jason claimed her lips again, kissing her soundly. He tried kissing Robin once, but it was nothing like this. This was different somehow, he wasn't sure how, but he was sure of it._

_"Wanna go for a ride?" Jason questions when they finally pull away from each other._

_"Definitely." she whispers, laying her forehead against his. "A ride sounds perfect."_

Shaking his head, Jason downed the rest of his drink before pouring himself another one. Elizabeth wasn't the first woman he ever kissed, but she became a lot of his firsts after that. With a slight smile, Jason moved to sit on the chair again when the door opened up and there she was.

"Can't sleep?" Elizabeth guesses, leaning against the doorjamb.

"Something like that." Jason concedes, smiling slightly. "What about you?"

"I was just finishing off a painting." Elizabeth admits, gesturing to her blouse. "Lila's letting me use the shed outback for my studio."

"That's good." Jason shakes his head. "I'm glad you can still do your art while you're here."

"Me, too." she admits, pushing away from the door. "I'd hardly be able to fathom what my life would be like without my art."

"I understand that."

"Anyway, I'll leave you to it." Elizabeth says simply. "I'm sure you'd rather be alone."

"Actually..." Jason stops her from leaving. "I'd really rather not...maybe we can catch up...its been a while since we just talked."

"About a decade, I'd say." Elizabeth points out, but follows him into the living room, accepting a glass of water. "So...you're getting married, huh?"

"Yeah." Jason smiles slightly. "What about you?"

"Nothing that serious." Elizabeth admits, sitting down on the club chair while he sits on the couch. "I have a boyfriend, but he's too busy with his career to be here...he's a prosecutor."

"He should be here."

"Yeah...he should." Elizabeth agrees. "But, like I said, its nothing serious."

"Still..." Jason takes a drink before setting the glass down. "He's your boyfriend...he should be here for you."

"I'm used to being alone." Elizabeth shrugs, downing the rest of her water before setting the glass down. "I'm glad you found someone to spend the rest of your life with...that's really good."

"Yeah." Jason eyes her intently for a moment, curious about the look in her eyes. "But you know that you're never really alone, right?"

"Sure." Elizabeth smiles slightly. "I have Lila, Emily, Brenda, AJ...the rest of the family...my family..."

"Right." he lets the topic drop for now. "So, I'm sure you made it to Italy by now...tell me what it was like."

"You've already been there." she reminds him, wondering what he was getting at.

"I know." Jason smiles slightly, shaking his head. "But I want to know what it was like through your eyes."

"Oh." she looks at him for a moment before smiling slightly. "Okay."

They spent hours talking about Italy and other places she has been, sometimes flipping it around and making Jason talk about places he's been over the years. It was the most they've spoken to each other in a long time, both enjoying that they still had that ability. Talking to each other without letting anything else weigh in. Not the past, not emotions, just them talking like old friends.

"Well, thanks for walking me to my room." Elizabeth says gratefully. "See you for breakfast in the morning?"

"I have something to handle in the morning, but I'll be back by lunch." he concedes. "Thanks for staying and talking to me."

"It was good to talk to you." Elizabeth admits. "And don't worry...I won't tell your fiancee about us...what we used to be."

"Elizabeth, I didn't mean it like that." he says firmly, needing her to understand. "Its always been hard for me to talk about us...what we used to be...and I just never knew how to put us into words. I will tell her, I swear, I just need to figure out how."

"Just tell the truth." Elizabeth says simply. "Tell her what we were and that we'll never be. That she's your future and she's all you'll ever need."

"Right." he shakes his head. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Jason." she replies, leaning over to place a kiss upon his cheek. "I'm glad you're happy with her."

Waiting long enough for her to walk into her bedroom, Jason leaves the house and straddles his bike. It looked like it was going to be one of those nights that he just needed to get away. So, putting the petal to the metal, Jason speeds off into the night. Leaving all the complications behind him and just embracing the feeling that his bike would always bring out in him.


	5. Chapter 5

Everyone has finally settled into their living arrangements at the mansion and have returned to their normal daily routines. Those from out of town have rented out an office space to handle their businesses from the small town while the locals just returned to their working schedules.

It worked in Elizabeth and Brenda's favor because it gave them a chance to go around town while Lila tended to her roses. Of course they wanted to stay and help her, but she pretty much kicked them out. She didn't need them babysitting her. Lila's words not theirs.

On an unrelated note, only two people have been kicked out of two different meals, so far. Tracy was kicked out of breakfast and Edward was kicked out lunch. Dinner seemed the most calm. No one wanting to miss out on cook's creations and all wanting to please Lila.

"Where do you wanna go first?" Elizabeth asks Brenda as they get into the only Mustang in the garage. The car that Edward keeps on hand for them.

"I don't know about you, but I can really go for some of Ruby's chili." Brenda admits, strapping in before starting up the car. "What do you say?"

"Sounds good." she admits, strapping in and kicking up her heels. "Maybe afterwards we can drop by the hospital. I'd rather see my Gram there than at her house."

"Sure." Brenda says simply, knowing that Elizabeth's relationship with her Gram was still very rocky. "You do know that Robin's working there as a doctor, right?"

"Great." Elizabeth says sarcastically, still hating Robin as much as ever. "Can't wait to see your best friend."

"Shut up." Brenda nudges her before taking a turn out of the mansion gates. "You're my best friend. I'm just playing nice with her."

"If you say so." Elizabeth shrugs, reclining her chair slightly. "Where to after the hospital?"

"Still need a plan, I see." Brenda glances over at her before shrugging. "We'll figure it out after Kelly's, okay?"

"Okay."

Staring out the window as Brenda drove away from the mansion, Elizabeth finally realized just how much she missed this place. Sure, the locals weren't going to be too pleased with her return, but that wasn't going to stop her from enjoying her hometown. Thinking about all the angry locals, Elizabeth's first time train surfing came to mind.

_"This is your idea of a first date?" Elizabeth looks at him curiously as they stood by the train tracks._

_"Scared?" he counters, arching his eyebrow challengingly._

_"Oh, heck no!" Elizabeth walks up to him. "You did not just challenge me into surfing a train."_

_"I think I just did." he smirks, waiting for her to back down._

_"You are so on!"_

_Pushing past him, Elizabeth stood by the train tracks, smirking slightly when he moves to stand beside her. The trains usually slowed down in this stretch of tracks, so that made it easier for them to get on and surf the train as it picked up momentum._

_"Ready?" Jason asked her as the train grew closer._

_"Are you?" she counters, taking off into a run before he could reply._

_Jason watched, with amazement, as she ran up to train and jumped on. Once she was on it, he took off and jumped on, but his slip gripped and she ended up helping him up. The smile on her face and the laughter in her eyes made up for the slip up. It seemed like she enjoyed it when he let her help him._

_"Thanks." he says softly, leaning in and kissing her softly._

_"Anytime." she replies, gesturing to the ladder that would lead them to the top of the train._

_Jason let her climb to the top first before he followed suit. The wind was blasting past them as they took their stance and the train started to go faster. The feeling that overcame her, the utter freedom and adrenaline, rates second only to being behind him on his motorcycle. She doubted that she'd ever be able to do stuff like this with anyone but Jason._

_Of course, like all great things, it was ended by the police. They always seemed to rain on a good parade, their train surfing not being an exception. Her gram had been so angry to find out what she had done, but Elizabeth didn't care. It was the best experience so far in her life and she wouldn't take it back._

_"She doesn't need your money." Jason stands up against her gram. "I got her into this, I'll pay her way out."_

_"So be it." Audrey Hardy shook her head in disappointment, turning to Elizabeth. "I will not watch you throw your life away for this man. He will get you killed and then where would that leave you?"_

_She wanted to answer smartly and say in a grave, but she just swallowed her retort and watched her grandmother leave. Jason's accountant had paid the fine for both of them, resulting in them needing to sign a couple documents before they were sent on their way. Mac had made a suggestion that Jason do the normal thing and take Elizabeth to a restaurant next time, but his suggestion fell on deaf ears. They didn't really care._

_"So, how did you like it?" Jason asked as they walked out of the PCPD._

_"Are you kidding?" she looked at him with a slight smirk. "I loved it!"_

_"Good." he shook his head. "Because that's just the start."_

Shaking her head, Elizabeth couldn't help the slight smile that touched her lips. She had been so terrified to actually get on the train, but her trust in Jason had her doing it. More than anything, she's glad that she did it because she would have had to live with a what if and she hates that.

"They look like we killed their cat." Brenda comments as they walked further into the diner.

"What?" Elizabeth looks at her confusedly.

"Courtney and Sam." Brenda whispers, walking with her to an empty table. "They look like we killed their cat."

"I'm pretty sure the looks are for me." Elizabeth shrugs, opening a menu. "Jason told Sam about our past and AJ spent the other day jet skiing with me."

"Okay...I get Sam's reaction, but what's with Courtney?"

"She wanted AJ to swim with her, but he wanted to take his jet ski out." Elizabeth explains. "I suggested AJ and I raced...which pissed her off."

"Weird." Brenda shakes her head. "So who won?"

"Who do you think?" Elizabeth laughs softly. "AJ."

Placing their orders, Elizabeth and Brenda received a few more glares from a few patrons, but they didn't care. It wasn't like they liked any of them anyway. After enjoying a couple bowls of chili, they decided that they might as well have dessert, too. It was only fair. They both knew, in order to keep up their image, they'd have to exercise a hell of a lot to work this stuff off, but they didn't care.

"Elizabeth?" a voice says from the doorway, causing both women to see who walked in.

"Johnny O'Brien." Elizabeth shakes her head before rising to her feet and walking into his waiting arms. "I've missed you."

"You have no idea." Johnny replies, kissing her cheek before pulling away to really look at her. "You're beautiful."

"Thanks." Elizabeth laughs softly, turning the attention to him. "How have you been?"

"I've been good." he assures, smiling slightly. "Life's been mostly work, but its still been good."

"That's good." she says softly. "And Francis? How's he doing?"

"I'll let him tell you." Johnny counters. "We're having a small party at his place tonight. You should come."

"Actually..." she was about to turn him down when Brenda stepped in.

"She'll be there." Brenda says with conviction. "Right?"

"Yeah." Elizabeth looks at her curiously before looking at Johnny. "I'll be there."

"Great." he smirks slightly. "See you later then."

Watching him walk out of the diner, Elizabeth turned to look at Brenda like she lost her mind. This wasn't why she was back. She was back for Lila and that meant being at the house whenever the family was together. It didn't mean hanging out with old time friends whenever the mood struck.

"Emily and I can handle the family tonight." Brenda says seriously. "You need to hangout with them."

"What did I tell you about being my shrink?" Elizabeth counters.

"You need this." Brenda says simply. "Besides, you wouldn't have agreed to it if you didn't want to."

"Shut up." Elizabeth shakes her head, following Brenda back to their table.

"And another bright side is that the two ice princesses have thawed out a little since you and Johnny were all cute together." Brenda gestures to the two women. "This could get them off your back."

"I have a boyfriend." she points out, not liking where this was going.

"A boyfriend that's not here." Brenda counters. "Either spend time with Johnny or write a sign on your forehead that you're after one of the brothers."

"I hate it when you make sense."

"I know." Brenda tosses her hair over her shoulder teasingly. "Its a curse."

Finishing their dessert, Brenda and Elizabeth decided to put off going to the hospital and went shopping instead. Seeing as Elizabeth agreed to hangout with Johnny and Francis, Brenda took it upon herself to classify it as a date. Yeah, crazy, but true.

"Its not a date." Elizabeth defended for the tenth time since they started looking for clothes.

"Tomato, tomahto." Brenda shrugs, tossing her a dress. "That looks cute. Its casual and sexy."

"Its not a date!" she exclaims, shaking her head. "But I love the dress."

"I know." Brenda smirks. "Lets grab some shoes while we're at it...and earrings. Ooh, what about new bracelets."

"I can't believe you're acting like this is a date."

"Its what I'm gonna tell Jason." Brenda shrugs her shoulders. "Might as well act like it now so I believe it enough to lie."

"Why would you lie to him?"

"You know why."

"Brenda!"

"Don't Brenda me." Brenda says seriously. "If he really loves his fiancee, he won't care that you're on a date."

"You're so low."

"Sue me." she counters. "I don't want him making a mistake."

"Ugh!" she groans, following Brenda through the department store, buying random things for her "date", damn Brenda.

Paying for everything, the two women spend a good three hours getting Elizabeth ready. In spite of all her protests, Brenda wouldn't give up on the idea of her and Johnny dating. With a sigh, Elizabeth allows her best friend to do what she must, simply doing whatever Brenda tells her.

"How do I look?" Elizabeth spins around once.

"Like you even have to ask." Brenda shakes her head. "Beautiful."

"Thanks." Elizabeth smiles slightly. "Time to get going."

Walking downstairs, Elizabeth kisses Lila's cheek, promising not to be out too late, only to be told to have fun. Passing Jason at the door, she smiles slightly, says goodbye and keeps walking. She was nervous enough, knowing what kind of party would be waiting at Francis's house. She hasn't seen any of the guards in such a long time.

"She's going on a date." Brenda points out when she sees him staring at the door a moment too long. "Johnny O'Brien."

"She has a boyfriend." he counters.

"And?" she retorts. "He's not here and they're not serious."

"Good for her then." Jason says simply. "Johnny's a good guy."

"Yeah. He is."

He was saying all the right things, but Brenda could see it as clear as day. Too bad they screwed up so badly that they would never allow themselves to go down that road again. With a slight smile, she tells him where his fiancee is before watching him walk away. Not failing to notice that he glanced at the door just before walking up the stairs.

"Hey." Johnny greets her at the door, pulling her into a warm embrace. "I'm glad you could make it."

"Me, too." she replies, allowing him to show her in, realizing she was the last to show up. "Am I late?"

"Not at all." he shakes his head. "You're beautiful, you know?"

"Thanks." she smiles at him, feeling just like she used to. He always felt the need to tell her that she was beautiful.

"Liz." Francis walks up to them, a soft smile on his face. "I'm sorry to hear about Lila."

"I was, too." she admits, allowing him to wrap her up into a warm embrace. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you beyond words." Francis assures, placing a kiss upon her cheek before pulling away. "You're beautiful."

"Thanks." she laughs softly, shaking her head. "So what's the occasion?"

"Couple guys' birthdays." Francis shrugs. "Come on, I'll introduce you around."

Johnny reluctantly let her walk off with Francis, walking the other way to find the alcohol. Elizabeth wasn't that surprised to find that there were some new guys mixed in with some long time guards. A few girls were scattered around, there with their boyfriends/husbands, enjoying the party.

About a couple hours later, Elizabeth walked onto the back patio to catch her breath. She forgot how crazy it gets with the guys, a whole lot of fun, but still crazy. She wasn't outside for that long when Johnny joined her, doing the gentlemanly thing and putting his jacket around her. It wasn't intended, but when he was done, she ended up turning to look at him and ended up two feet in front of him.

"Hi." he whispers, staring into her eyes.

"Hi." she replies in that same soft tone.

"So...what's it like?" he questions, sliding his hands down to hold hers. "Living your dream."

"Its everything I imagined and more." she assures. "I've missed Port Charles, though."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." she shakes her head. "My whole life started here...most of my life still resides here."

"I've missed you, Liz." he says in a hushed tone, trying to hide the emotion in his words, but she still heard it. "Nothing's been the same without you here."

"I'm sure its been fine."

"No...it hasn't." he shakes his head. "The job's been great, but you're the one I spend my downtime with."

"Johnny..."

"I know, okay?" he cuts her off. "Your heart is Jason's...I know that. I'm not asking for anything...really, I'm not."

"Its not just that." she takes a deep breath. "I have a boyfriend."

"Is it serious?"

"No." she shakes her head. "Not at all."

"Okay." he accepts that much. "Look...when I saw you through the window at the diner, I thought that maybe I stood a chance...that it was a sign."

"You deserve better than me."

"There's no one better than you."

Taking a deep breath, feeling the warmth of his hands in hers, Elizabeth wished she could give him what he wanted. The love shining through his eyes, realizing that he had always felt that way, Elizabeth wished more than anything to give him what he wanted. At least she could give him a part of it, a truth she always hid.

"I always had a crush on you...a part of me still does." Elizabeth admits. "But starting something now wouldn't be fair to you."

"Only I can decide what's fair to me." Johnny counters, staring into her eyes, almost hopeful. "I'm not asking for promises...just a chance."

"Johnny..."

"We're both adults...we've already showed our cards...just give me a chance."

"Okay." she shakes her head. "If you still want to try, knowing where I stand, then I'm willing to try."

"Can I kiss you?" he asks her carefully. "I don't want to push it...I just..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Elizabeth cut him off by claiming his lips with hers, smiling inwardly when she felt something. Pulling away slightly, she smiled up at him, her eyes soft as she stared into his. Getting the picture, Johnny smiled slightly before lowering his lips to hers. This kiss was soft and slow, simply feeling whatever was coursing through them. Johnny imagined it once or twice, but kissing her went beyond what he imagined. It was so much better.

"I never want to hurt you." Elizabeth whispers, laying her forehead against his after they pull away.

"I asked for a chance." he says simply. "If I get hurt, its on me."


	6. Chapter 6

It was reaching into the late hours of the night by the time Elizabeth made it back to the mansion. Her mind was pretty much scattered, unable to believe that she had just agreed to try at a relationship with Johnny O'Brien. Things between them had always straddled the line between friends and something more, but her love for Jason always pulled her back.

Even after she and Jason came to an end, she never really could step into something with him. Not only because Johnny was her friend, but because her life was just too much for her to bear. After everything went down, Elizabeth just couldn't bear to be in Port Charles anymore. She had to get out and she had to get out fast.

Johnny couldn't believe that she'd just up and leave the way she did, but she couldn't consider his feelings or anyone else's. All she cared about was getting out of Port Charles and that's what she did. She hopped on the first bus out of town and forced herself to look forward at a future for herself.

She sold a few paintings here and there, took up a few art jobs whenever the mood struck, slowly making a name for herself in the art world. Then, with the help of her painting of the Wind, her entire career took off. Soon she was hosting art showings of her own pieces, landing on magazine covers and even moving further up in the art world.

It had really been a dream come true, but not as spectacular as she had always imagined. She had lied to Johnny tonight, living her dream is amazing, but it would never be complete without the man that inspired her in the first place. Jason Quartermaine had helped her believe in her art while Jason Morgan helped her believe in herself. Without him, her dream would never be complete.

Shaking her head of thoughts of Jason, she makes her way up the stairs. Unwinding tonight with the guys had given her some ideas on how to mend the bonds between certain members of the family and she wants her energy to be full when she puts them into play.

"Hey." Jason stops her as she's about to walk into her room.

"Hey." she replies, standing by her door as he walks up to her. "What are you still doing up?"

"Restless." he shrugs. "Just getting in?"

"Yeah." she admits, smiling slightly. "You gonna ground me?"

"Funny." he shakes his head. "How was your date?"

"It was okay."

"I didn't know you liked Johnny."

"There's a lot you don't know." she counters. "Its been a long night...I'm gonna get to bed."

"Elizabeth..." he takes hold of her hand, stopping her from walking inside.

"Jason."

"I just want you to know that I'm happy for you." he explains, releasing his hold on her. "If Johnny makes you happy...I'm happy for you. He's a good guy."

"Yeah...he is." she replies. "He cares about me and I care about him. I actually want to see where this is going."

"That's good."

"So..." she rubs her lips together, feeling a little awkward. "See you in the morning?"

"Yeah." he concedes. "I'll be here for breakfast."

"Okay."

"Okay."

Walking into her bedroom, Elizabeth slumps back against the door, finding herself being pulled back into the past when he took hold of her hand like that. It wasn't fair that he still had that hold on her, that devotion was supposed to be long gone by now. With a sigh, she pushes away from the door and calls it a night. No use trying to analyse her and Jason now...she's never been able to thus far.

Jason, on the other hand, touches her door with one hand, letting out an equally conflicted sigh before he drops his arm back to his side. He, too, had been taking back into the past when he took hold of her hand like that, back to a memory of the very first time they ever fought.

_"How could you do that?" she exclaims, staring at him in pure anger. "You had no right, Jason, no right!"_

_"I was just trying to protect you!"_

_"Pro-protect me?" she looks at him incredulously. "From what? My friend?"_

_"How was I supposed to know he was your friend?" he counters. "The threat level is high right now..."_

_"You ask!" she shouts, staring at him intently. "You ask me before you pull your gun on someone I care about!"_

_"You know what, fine!" Jason snaps. "The next time someone grabs you, I'll stop long enough to ask you if they're about to kill you!"_

_"That's all I'm saying." she counters firmly._

_"You're impossible." he shakes his head. "Sometimes I wonder why we're even together."_

_"Is that really how you feel?" her voice lowers and she's staring at him with piercing eyes. "Answer me, Jason! Is that really how you feel?"_

_He looks at her confusedly, obviously not truly grasping the weight of his words, but the hurt in her eyes told him enough. He screwed up and he screwed up bad._

_"Stupid question...of course you feel that way." she shakes her head. "You wouldn't say it if you didn't mean it."_

_"Elizabeth, wait!" he quickly takes hold of her hand as she's about to walk out of the penthouse. "I'm sorry...please don't leave."_

_"Why shouldn't I?" she counters, looking at him with tears in her eyes. "If you don't know why we're together, there's no point in me being here."_

_"I do know why." he insists, turning her to face him completely. "I'm sorry I said that...I was just lost in the anger...I didn't mean it the way it sounded. Please...please don't leave me."_

_She must have seen the desperation in his eyes, the need for her to stay, because she shut the door and allowed him to wrap his arms around her. In that moment, he swore to be more careful with her, never wanting to chance her leaving him. He couldn't handle it, that much he was sure of, he'd never be able to survive it._

Running a weary hand down his face, Jason turns on his heels and returns to his bedroom where his fiancee lies asleep. Its been ten years since they were together, anything that could have been died a long time ago, and - like she had pointed out - they have both moved on.

The boyfriend wasn't even a question now, he knows she won't let that continue now that she's with Johnny, but it didn't make him feel any better. His friendship with Johnny suffered a great deal after he broke up with Elizabeth. He never really understood why, but - in a way - he probably should understand now.

"How long have you been in here?" Brenda asks Elizabeth the next morning, checking her watch and noting that it was five o'clock in the morning.

"Two hours." Elizabeth admits, slowing down to a walking pace after having sprinted for a good ten minutes. "The alcohol I drank last night paired with what we ate...I needed the exercise."

"No kidding." Brenda pinches her stomach. "I feel like I've put on ten pounds after yesterday."

"Ten? More like twenty." Elizabeth counters. "I couldn't even fit my jeans this morning."

"So...off the topic of who gained more..." Brenda laughs softly, straddling the stationary bike. "How was it last night?"

"I agreed to give him a chance." Elizabeth admits, smiling slightly. "I've always had a slight crush on him, but..."

"You loved Jason too much." Brenda finishes for her. "Its okay to try at love again, Liz."

"I know." she shakes her head.

"What about your boyfriend?"

"Oh, he's not a problem." she chuckles, stepping off the treadmill, towelling off before grabbing her phone and bringing up the email from Ric. "Break up via email."

"That's just low." Brenda comments, reading it quickly before handing it back to her. "I mean, I know you weren't serious, but that's just low."

"Its whatever really." Elizabeth shrugs, tossing her phone to the side. "Its not like I'm going to pine over him."

"True." she agrees, smiling slightly as Elizabeth straddles the stationary bike beside her. "So...I have a plan to strengthen Jax and Edward's bond."

"Starting without me?" Emily feigns offence as she walks into the gym, pulling up a chair.

"You should exercise, you know." Brenda comments when Emily just sits there with a cup of chocolate flavored coffee.

"There's a lot I should do, but don't." Emily replies with a slight smirk. "So, you were saying about Jax and Grandfather?"

"Right." Brenda shakes her head, taking a sip of water before continuing. "I have a plan to get them to work together."

"Yeah?" Elizabeth questions, intrigued.

"The Port Charles Hotel." Brenda says simply. "Edward wants to sell it and Jax has always wanted to own a hotel...if I can get the two men talking, they'll be itching to work together in fixing up the place."

"That sounds crazy enough to work." Emily admits, knowing how badly Edward wanted to do away with the hotel. Not having the patience to deal with it.

"Well, while you're working on those two, I've come up with a plan to get Skye and Chloe to face each other." Elizabeth admits, taking a sip of water.

"Do tell." Emily was intrigued by Elizabeth's choice, seeing as Chloe was on her list.

"Well, Sam's going to need help planning her wedding, right?" Elizabeth points out. "Both of them love planning weddings...with a little help from Sam, they wouldn't have any choice but to work together."

"You're gonna ask the ice princess for help?" Brenda counters, looking at her curiously.

"If it means that Skye and Chloe work out their differences...yeah." Elizabeth shakes her head. "I'll ask the devil himself if I thought it would help."

"Good luck with that." Brenda says simply, knowing that Elizabeth would do anything to give Lila what she wanted. "What about you Quartermaine? You doing anything productive?"

"Oh, shut up." Emily rolls her eyes, smiling slightly. "As a matter of fact, I've fixed the relationship between Michael and Dillon."

"Wow...you fixed two teenagers." Brenda claps her hands together mockingly before laughing. "I'm just messing...that's good. How did you pull that?"

"Gave them a common enemy." Emily smirks. "School. Dillon's helping Michael in film class while Michael's helping Dillon in gym."

"Got any other plans, oh genius one?" Elizabeth questions teasingly, ducking when Emily throws her a towel.

"I'm still thinking of a way to get my dad to forgive AJ." Emily admits. "Its harder than I thought."

"Well, keep at it." Brenda encourages. "And get out of here. Your lazy butt is making me tired."

Laughing at the both of them, Emily simply rises to her feet and walks out of the gym, knowing they'll be in there for at least another hour. Those two really took their exercising seriously, something she didn't really have to do because she just never seemed to gain any real weight.

"Elizabeth." Jason says a little surprised when she walks out of her bedroom and right up to them, after having taken a shower.

"I'm glad I caught you two before you went down for breakfast." Elizabeth smiles, turning her attention to Sam. "Can you spare a minute? I need your help with something."

"Um...sure." Sam shakes her head. "We can talk in me and Jason's room."

"Great." Elizabeth agrees, both walking off, leaving a stunned Jason in their wake.

"What just happened here?" Jason asks himself when the door closes behind both women. Deciding he didn't want to know, he continues on to the dining room, hoping they didn't kill each other.

"So...what do you want my help with?" Sam questions, refraining from saying anything else.

"I was hoping you could ask Chloe and Skye to help plan your wedding." Elizabeth gets right to the point. "They're both wedding fanatics and I just know it'll help them get over whatever problems they're having."

"We were just planning on eloping." Sam concedes, knowing what she was getting at and really wanting to help...just not at the expense of her wedding.

"I know...I get that." she assures. "I'd owe you one."

"Okay...I'll talk to Jason." Sam shakes her head. "If he agrees to it...I'll ask them."

"Thanks." Elizabeth says gratefully. "I really appreciate you doing this."

A short talk with Jason later and Sam was asking both women to help plan her wedding. Elizabeth didn't get the hesitation, Chloe is a famous designer and Skye was amazing with putting a wedding together, but shrugged it off and took the win. Chloe and Skye both agreed to help, like Elizabeth knew they would, even if they'd have to work together.

Brenda's plan came together, as well, after dropping a few hints here and there between both men. Jax jumped at the chance to own a hotel that would be his alone and not his family's while Edward jumped at the chance to sell the place and make a hefty profit. Both agreeing that they'd work together on the upgrades of the place. From the looks of it, they were leaning towards a partnership of sorts.

"How're you doing, Lila?" Elizabeth questions after moving to sit by her.

"I'm doing just fine, dear." Lila clasped one hand over Elizabeth's. "You three have done such a good job with everyone."

"You know, even if we do manage to get this family back as one, it would never be the same without you." Elizabeth points out, fighting off the tears. "I don't know how I'm going to handle anything when you're gone."

"You'll find a way." Lila assures. "You're a strong woman. In all honesty, you're not on the list of those I'll be worried for when I'm gone."

"Let me guess...Jason's at the top of that list." she guesses.

"Can't get anything past you, can I?" Lila chuckles softly. "I know he'll be the most affected and that's why I worry for him. His relationship with the family is hanging on by a thread...I'd hate to think of what will happen once I'm gone."

"He'll be okay." Elizabeth promises her. "I'll make sure of it."

"Miss Elizabeth?" Reginald says politely. "A Mr. O'Brien is here to see you."

"Thanks, Reggie." Elizabeth replies before looking at Lila. "I won't let him pull away after you're gone. You can trust me on that."

"I'm sure you won't." Lila smiles slightly. "Go on. You have visitor."

With a slight smile, Elizabeth rose to her feet before walking out of the living room where the family have gathered, failing to notice Jason watching her leave. Getting to the front door, she couldn't help but smile at Johnny when he came into view. Just like Reginald to keep him outside.

"Hi." she says softly after pulling him into the house and closing the door.

"Hi." he replies, looking at her intently. "How'd you sleep last night?"

"Peacefully." she admits, laughing softly. "I was dumped this morning, via email."

"Oh, yeah?" he counters, looking at her curious. "How do you feel about that?"

"I don't." she concedes. "Like I said, it wasn't serious."

"Okay." he smiles slightly, knowing he was glad that she wasn't affected by her breakup. "Look, I just came by because Sonny has me booked up today."

"I'm glad you came." she admits, glad to see that she still felt something for him in the light of day. "I mean that."

"I'm glad I came, too." he replies. "Tomorrow...will you have dinner with me?"

"Definitely." she shakes her head. "But only if we can go dancing, too."

"Anything you want." he assures, leaning in to kiss her softly. "See you tomorrow then?"

"Count on it."

With one more kiss, she opens the door and watches him leave, truly anxious for tomorrow night to come already. Its been a long while since she ever looked forward to a date and she found that she liked it. Closing the door, Elizabeth leans against it, a soft smile playing on her lips.

Even with her warm thoughts of Johnny filling her mind, Elizabeth felt the urge to remind herself of the past and what this feeling could lead to. Rushing up the stairs, she pulls out her laptop, logging into her security feed in her private gallery in Rome. This gallery is devoted to her relationship, beginning to end, with Jason. A reminder of what they had, as well as a reminder of what letting love in her heart can do to her.

A tear slides down her cheek when a particular painting comes onto her screen, a secret she has kept from Jason all these years, a secret she plans on never revealing. Before any further tears could pour over, Elizabeth logs of the feed and shuts her laptop. Thoroughly reminded of the pain falling in love can cause.

"You didn't." Brenda sighs in her doorway. "Why must you always do that to yourself?"

"Don't play my shrink right now, Brenda." Elizabeth sighs, pushing away her laptop. "Just hug me."

"Okay." Brenda shuts the door before walking over to her and wrapping her arms around her. "You know I love you, right?"

"I know." Elizabeth assures, shutting her eyes against the memories. "Believe me, I know."


	7. Chapter 7

With some clever words and sneaky handling, the girls managed to put together a Quartermaine BBQ by the lake, something that hasn't happened in years. The men, of course, have dominated the barbecuing while the women set up the tables and handle the drinks. It may only be to put the barbecue together, but everyone's pitching in and it was more than they hoped for.

Laughter is a constant thing at the grill, men talking meat and whatnot, joking around and actually enjoying each other's company. Even Edward has thrown down a few back in the day stories of his ventures with women, something Dillon and Michael swear they'll never be able to unlearn.

"Need help?" Sam asks Elizabeth - who's dumping ice into the coolers.

"Sure." Elizabeth smiles slightly. "I'd appreciate it."

"So...you're an artist?" Sam tries for polite conversation, taking a bag and ripping it open before dumping it into the cooler in front of her. "What kind of exposure does your work get?"

"Well, I've opened up a couple galleries in almost every city in Italy." she admits, shutting her cooler after levelling the ice. "I've hosted more than my fair share of showings throughout North and South America, having made it to Puerto Rico and the Caribbean for showings that hosted a couple of my pieces...I'd say my work gets a good amount of exposure. Why?"

"Curiosity." Sam shrugs, shutting the cooler. "The only thing I know about art surrounds which are most valuable."

"That's too bad." Elizabeth comments honestly. "Art has a way of opening up a person's mind in ways you couldn't even imagine. If you look at a painting the right way, its more than possible to look right into the soul of the artist that created it."

"I'll keep that in mind." Sam replies before walking off, an idea brewing in her mind.

Glancing around, Elizabeth was glad the BBQ has come together the way it has, thankful that Brenda had a knack for throwing things together in the last minute. Skye and Chloe are off to the side, discussing wedding plans without any snide remarks so far, something that Elizabeth was impressed with. Sam easily slipping into the conversation, the look on her face giving Elizabeth some pause.

"Earth to Liz." Brenda waves her hand in front of Elizabeth's face, snapping her out of her head space. "You alive in there?"

"Yeah...sorry." she turns her attention to her friend. "What's up? What do you need?"

"A quick trip to the store." Brenda says with a pleading smile, holding up the keys to the Mustang. "We need more drinks."

"I'll handle it." Elizabeth shakes her head, snatching the keys. "But only because you're handling them tomorrow night."

"Right...dinner and dancing." Brenda smirks. "I guess that's a plus to it being Johnny, huh?"

"Goodbye, dork." Elizabeth nudges her before walking off, smiling slightly when she hears Brenda laughing.

Elizabeth let her have that, not wanting to correct Brenda, even if she was wrong. Jason may hate to dance in public, but in the privacy of his penthouse...suffice to say that he danced with her whenever she wanted it. In some ways, it was better than dancing out. She got to have him to herself and it was more intimate; knowing that he only shared that part of himself with her...it was romantic in so many ways.

Shaking her head, Elizabeth continued her venture up the pathway that would take her to the house. She might as well grab her swimsuit and change of clothes before heading to the store. There's no telling what kind of complications she'll run into in town and she probably wouldn't have time to grab it later.

"Hey, AJ." Elizabeth greets him, walking through the back patio doors and into the living room.

"Hey." AJ smiles slightly before hugging her. "What are you doing up here?"

"Heading to the store for a store run." she concedes. "Just grabbing my bag on the way out. You heading back?"

"Y-Yeah." he shakes his head, not at all convincing her with his next reply, "I'm just taking a break."

"What's going on, AJ?" she looks at him intently, knowing something was up. "You're still a terrible liar, you know that, right?"

"Lila's right." AJ lets out a weary sigh. "We really can't get anything past you."

"What's going on?"

"Courtney's divorcing me." AJ admits, slumping down onto the couch. "She promised to keep up appearances until after Lila passes..."

"I'm so sorry." Elizabeth could see just how badly this was hurting him and, in that moment, she wanted to strangle a blonde. "Did you see this coming at all?"

"No. We've been great...up until moving here...I never saw this coming." AJ shakes his head. "She ranted on and on about how terrible I am...that I'm nothing but an alcoholic...god, I can just hear Grandfather's voice now."

"Up until moving here, huh?" Elizabeth mulls that over. "Look, everything's gonna be okay, AJ. Why don't you come with me to the store, okay? I promise you, we'll figure this out."

Once he agreed to go with her, Elizabeth sprinted upstairs to grab her bag before meeting up with him at the Mustang. Something's up with his wife, she sensed it from the moment they met, but she just couldn't figure out what it was. For her to do this to AJ now, though, Elizabeth won't rest until she gets to the bottom of this.

"We might as well get more beer while we're here." Elizabeth comments. "Do you think you can grab the soda?"

"Sure." AJ replies gratefully. "Meet you at checkout?"

"Yeah."

Watching him walk off, Elizabeth pulls out her cellphone, calling one of her contacts in the government. A hacker with the strange craving for barbecue chips and orange soda. Damien Spinelli. World's best hacker and worst flirt all in one package. Pushing her cart, as she waits for him to answer, Elizabeth starts putting the beer in the cart. Instinctively putting Jason's favorite beer first.

"You've reached the Jackal, sole slayer of the cyber world, speak now or be subjected to the utter distasteful sound of a dial tone."

"Damien, how's my favorite hacker doing?" she replies, a slight smile on her lips. "Listen, I need a favor."

"The Fair Elizabeth, its been quite a while since the Jackal has been graced with your melodious voice." he counters, popping the top off his orange soda. "Name the favor and its yours."

"I need whatever you can get me on Courtney Matthews-Quartermaine." Elizabeth says simply. "The faster you get me the information, the more you receive in return."

"Will this shipment arrive from Jamaica?"

"If that's where you want it from, its a done deal." Elizabeth assures. "If you get me what I need."

"You'll have it before the sun rises in your beautiful hometown." he says with conviction, opening up his most prized possession. "As always, Fair Elizabeth, it has been the utmost of pleasures doing business with you."

"Right back at ya." Elizabeth's smile fade when she spots Robin walking towards her. "Talk to you again soon."

"The Jackal can only hope so."

Ending the call, Elizabeth stands her ground after slipping her cellphone into her front pocket. Even after all these years, she hates Robin with a burning rage that can never and will never die. Something that Elizabeth was certain, Robin knows by heart.

"Guess the rumors are true." Robin comments, standing in front of Elizabeth's cart. "The famous artist of Port Charles has returned."

"Since you're standing here, it must mean that its true that the aspiring doctor couldn't cut it out in the big leagues and returned to her small hometown to be the big fish in the small pond." Elizabeth counters, glaring daggers at her. "Must be nice to work in a hospital where everything's handed to you."

"Still as testy as ever, I see."

"Still as dim minded as ever, I see." she counters. "Look, I hate you, you hate me...I have a party to get back to and you have a patient to kill. Walk away, Robin."

"Its a free country...I'll walk away when I feel like it."

"True." Elizabeth walks out from behind the cart, placing herself in front of Robin. "Which also means that I can make you. I'm twice your size...you really wanna take me on?"

They stared each other down for a moment longer before Robin stepped aside and gestured for her to walk past.

"Didn't think so." Elizabeth states, pushing the cart past Robin.

"Just because I'm smaller, doesn't mean I can't take you on if I had to."

"Whatever makes you sleep at night." Elizabeth turns the cart before looking at her. "How you could sleep after what you did to me...well, that's a miracle in and of itself, now, isn't it?"

Satisfied, for now, Elizabeth walks off to meet up with AJ at the checkout line. Robin obviously still carried the weight of what she did, but it didn't mean that Elizabeth wouldn't jab that knife in whenever she had the chance. So what if she loses a few hours of sleep or feels guilt...what Elizabeth lost was more important than that.

"You okay?" AJ asks her after the load everything into the car.

"Yeah." Elizabeth lies with ease, luckily she picked that up over the years. "Let's get back to the house."

"I'm sure I don't have to ask you this, but..."

"I won't let anyone in the family know Courtney plans to leave you." Elizabeth assures him. "But I will figure out what her angle is and make sure that you don't get blind sighted by anything."

"Thanks." AJ smiles slightly. "I'm so glad to have you back."

"I'm glad to be back."


	8. Chapter 8

The heat was almost unbearable within the small shed, but Elizabeth refused to leave it. She had so much to think about, so many things to contemplate, that she needed her art more than ever before. From the moment she read Lila's letter, she knew the kind of darkness that awaited her. The stubborn part of her believed that she could handle it, that she could live through it long enough to do what was needed, but she wasn't so sure now.

As far as the family is concerned, they are making a good amount of change at a steady rate, everyone finally facing crap they've been holding against each other for a long time. Emily's making some headway with Alan, its not easy, but its becoming more and more possible by the day.

Chloe and Skye had a huge blow out and - thanks to that - they have become the closest they've ever been. They've gone shopping together, had dinner out without killing each other, things are definitely looking up for those two. Which had the girls feeling a little more confident, but they won't feel a whole lot confident until they get Tracy to stop being such a hard ass and admit to loving her family, as well as wanting to be in the thick of it all.

"Ms. Elizabeth, you've received a package in the mail." Reggie says from outside the shed.

With a slight smile, she puts down her paint brush and pulls open the door, knowing that he wouldn't open the door in respect of her privacy.

"Thanks, Reggie." Elizabeth says gratefully, taking the package from him.

"Are you sure I can't get you a fan or something?" Reginald questions, feeling the heat as it escapes the room. "It can't possibly be comfortable in there."

"Haven't you heard?" Elizabeth says jokingly. "Suffering is the key to great art."

"At least let me bring out some lemonade." Reginald counters. "I'm sure artists have to drink, right?"

"Lemonade would be great, Reggie." she relents, smiling slightly. "Thank you."

"I'll be right out with a pitcher."

Before she could stop him, Reginald walks back towards the house, making any form of denying an entire pitcher impossible. With a shake of her head, Elizabeth shuts the door to deal with something she had control over, the package.

"Damien, don't fail me now." she mutters, plopping down by her makeshift desk and ripping the delivery box wide open. The first package he sent her held nothing that she could use. This one, however, held almost every last detail on the woman.

Laying out the information on her desk, Elizabeth spent the next few hours reading and rereading certain documents before going on to read more. What she wasn't ready for was the little tidbit that Courtney Matthews-Quartermaine isn't really a Matthews at all. No. This wasn't good at all.

Now to find her angle and Elizabeth can finally put to rest her suspicions on the blonde. Of course, her first thought is that she's after Jason, the way that blonde woman looks at him...suffice to say that Elizabeth has seen that look many times before and it always came to one conclusion. Lust and obsession.

There had to be more to it than that, though, and she needed to figure it out. There's a reason why Courtney made her way into the Quartermaine family and suddenly wants out, the question being if not who then what. As she's sorting through the woman's past, a knock sounds at the door, pulling her attention away from the matter at hand.

"Johnny." she looks at him a little surprised, glancing back at the files before focusing on him. "I thought you weren't coming by today."

"Francis got me a window." Johnny admits. "I'm sorry for just dropping by..."

"No, its okay." she shakes her head. "I'm just really into my art right now."

"Ah, I get it." Johnny smiles slightly. "I really just wanted to see you."

"Give me a minute?" Elizabeth asks softly. "I just have to put a few finishing touches and I'll be right out."

"Okay."

Watching him walk over to the patio, Elizabeth shuts the door, securing the latch before sitting down again. Courtney is one enigma that would have to wait to be solved, right now she has her boyfriend to please. Stuffing everything back into the package, she makes a mental note to talk to a certain Cuban about a certain sister of his.

"Your lemonade, Miss Elizabeth." Reginald sets the pitcher down with one glass.

"Thanks, Reggie." Elizabeth replies, knowing exactly how Reginald felt about Johnny. Not his favorite person. Anyone connected to Sonny, other than Jason, can just forget about being served by him. "Sorry about him."

"Its fine." he shrugs. "I'm not here to please him."

"I know, but still." Elizabeth pours lemonade into the cup and hands it to him. "Drink up. You look dehydrated."

"Sure know how to make a guy feel good, huh, Liz?" he counters, taking the drink and downing it none the less. Sonny doesn't really give them time to keep hydrated or fed.

"How much time did Francis get you?" Elizabeth questions, refilling his glass. "Enough time to eat?"

"Liz, I didn't come here for you to take care of me." he stops her, taking hold of her hand. "I came to spend time with you."

"And you will...while you eat." she says seriously. "I'm sure Cook has something waiting in the kitchen. I'll be back real quick, okay?"

"Liz..."

"You look like you haven't eaten in days." Elizabeth states firmly. "You really think I'd be able to spend time with you knowing that?"

"Okay." he relents. "Okay...I'll eat."

"Thank you." she replies as she rises to her feet, leaning over to kiss him softly before standing upright. "You really should learn not to argue the point."

"Maybe I like it when you fuss over me like that." he counters with a slight smile.

"Smooth." she shakes her head before kissing him once more. "I'll be right back."

Walking off to get food for Johnny, she doesn't fail to notice Jason walking out of the back doors once she's about to walk through the kitchen doors. Not wanting to think much of it, Elizabeth continues her venture into the kitchen, even though she knows that look on Jason's face and doesn't like it one bit.

"Jason." Johnny rises to his feet at the sight of him.

"Johnny." Jason counters plainly. "Shouldn't you be on the shipments?"

"What are you gonna do?" Johnny counters. "Report me?"

"Don't tempt me." Jason states. "We're no longer friends, O'Brien. You work for me and Sonny. That's it."

"Fine." Johnny shrugs. "What's this about then?"

"Elizabeth."

"Of course." he shakes his head. "Always is with you, isn't it?"

"It is when you put her life in danger." Jason states sternly. "What the hell are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that its none of your business."

"Its my business when you risk the lives of those I care about." Jason clenches his jaw, hating to have to do this, but knowing it was necessary. "Elizabeth being high on that list. Either walk away or take this threat to heart."

Stepping into his personal space, Jason takes his gun out, resting it against Johnny's heart.

"If anything happens to her, if she gets hurt in any way, I will make it my sole mission in life to make sure you die a slow and painful death." Jason states, his eyes beyond ice cold. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal."

"Good." Jason removes his gun, placing it behind his back once again before stepping away. "Finish up and head back to the shipment. In case you've forgotten, Sorrel is a lethal threat and our shipments are still vulnerable."

"I haven't forgotten." Johnny states through gritted teeth. "I know how to do my damn job."

"Could've fooled me."

Walking out of the kitchen, Elizabeth could tell that Johnny was tense about something, but she couldn't make out what they were talking about and the conversation was over before she got to them. Setting down the food in front of Johnny, she turned to Jason.

"Hey." she say simply, seeing that unsettling look in his eyes, but only for a second longer before he masks it; as if he could hide it from her.

"Hey." he replies, a slight smile on his face. "Reginald told me you were out here painting. I need a word."

"Can it wait?" she counters, allowing him to walk her a good distance away from Johnny. "Johnny doesn't have much time off the clock."

"Its important." he says firmly, but shakes his head. "But I can wait. Got any plans for lunch?"

"Not that I know of."

"Meet me at the usual spot." Jason hands her the burn phone. "Its that important."

"Okay." Elizabeth says with conviction. "I'll be there, but it'll come with a price."

"Name it."

"I need your help with something." she says seriously. "It has to do with AJ and you're the only one I can go to with this."

"We'll talk later." he says, obviously agreeing to help her.

"Okay."

Watching him walk off, Elizabeth slips the burn phone into her front pocket before walking back over to Johnny. She could tell that he was curious, but he wouldn't question and she wouldn't offer anything up. The less people that know about AJ's crazy wife the better. And, if nothing else, Elizabeth didn't want him in the middle of it since it had to do with Sonny, as well.

"I'm glad you could come by." Elizabeth says softly, having walked him to the front door. "Even if it was only for a little while."

"Me, too." Johnny kisses her softly. "See you again when I can."

"Can't wait."

It sucked to keep things from Johnny, but AJ's whole marriage could very well be a lie and Elizabeth's loyalty lies with him first. So, watching him leave, Elizabeth makes her way back into the house. Whatever Jason wants to talk to her about, it obviously had something to do with Johnny and the business. The look in his eyes told her that much.

"Where you off to in such a rush?" Brenda questions when Elizabeth walks back into the house, the package from Spinelli in her arms.

"Meeting." she says elusively. "I'm running late...can I catch you up later?"

"Sure." Brenda shrugs. "Everyone's gonna be out of the house tonight...wanna have a girls' night out?"

"Sounds great, set it up." Elizabeth says as she walks towards the door. "Anywhere but Jake's."

Getting in the Mustang, she tosses the package on the passenger seat before starting up the car and taking off. Getting to the road that would lead to their usual meeting place, Elizabeth uses the burn phone to call him, giving him the heads up that she was heading in. Not needing him to shoot at her.

"Sorry to do this to you." Jason apologizes, glancing around outside before shutting the door. "I wouldn't really have to if you weren't dating Johnny."

"Please tell me you didn't set this up with the sole purpose of telling me to end things with Johnny."

"I wouldn't do that." Jason says seriously. "You remember Sorrel?"

"Stupid question." she states, she'll never be able to forget that man for as long as she lives. "What about him?"

"He's back and he's got a lot of backing this time." Jason tries to divulge as little as possible while warning her. "He's a lot more dangerous now than he's ever been before."

"Get to the point." Elizabeth states. "Who's helping him?"

"Tom Baker."

And just like that, Elizabeth felt her whole world being knocked off its axle, prompting Jason to put her on the couch before she fell over in shock. She hasn't heard that name in over thirteen years. The only question running through her mind at this point is why now?

"I want to put a couple guards on you." Jason says seriously. "You won't know they're there...I'll make sure of it."

"Okay." she says plainly, shaking her head.

"I won't let them get anywhere near you, Liz." Jason kneels down in front of her. "You've got to trust me on that."

"I do." she shakes her head. "I guess your problem makes mine look trivial."

"Right. You said you needed help...with what exactly?"

"AJ's wife." Elizabeth explains, trying her best to keep her cool. "There's something off with her...she's divorcing AJ after Lila passes away."

"I don't get why that's alarming."

"It just is." Elizabeth states. "I need your help because she's Sonny's sister."

"What?"

"I take it you didn't know that."

"How do you?"

"I've made a few special friends along the way." she says simply. "I don't know what's her angle in all of this, but I need to know that I can trust you with this...that means keeping Sonny out of it."

"I'll look into it." Jason says seriously, not wanting to believe what she's implying. "But if I don't know, its more likely that he doesn't know either."

"There's a lot you don't know about Sonny." Elizabeth states, rising to her feet, anger dissipating the fear. "I've done my homework...he knows exactly who she is."

"Like I said, I'll look into it." Jason assures. "Watch your back until I get the guards into place."

"I will." Elizabeth says, walking out of the safe house with him, handing him everything she had on Courtney. "I guess I should probably tell you that your fiancee asked me to be her maid of honor."

"She what?" he looks at her in shock.

"Yeah...shocker for me, too." she shakes her head. "Just thought I should warn you, in case you didn't already know."

"I didn't know."

"Good...now find a way to get me out of it." Elizabeth says seriously, opening her car door and getting in. "Suggest Robin...I'm sure she'd love to have your best friend as her maid of honor."

Without another word, Elizabeth put the car in reverse and sped out of there like a bat out of hell. Why, out of all the people in the world, did it have to be Tom freaking Baker in cahoots with Joseph Sorrel? Like her life wasn't complicated enough as is, they go and throw the worst night of her life in her face. Just great.


	9. Chapter 9

Stretching the fatigue from his weary body, Jason steps into his penthouse and drops onto the desk chair to rest for a moment. Talking to Sam had been...well, to say that he was confused would be an understatement. According to his future wife, the mere suggestion that she use someone else somehow means that he was still in love with Elizabeth.

Why else would he make the suggestion, she had questioned him with an arched eyebrow. In all honesty, he didn't get what one had to do with the other. He tried to ask her to look at it from Elizabeth's point of view, but that just made it worse. Apparently if she had a problem with it, it meant that she's still in love with him. Who thinks like that?

With a sigh, he runs his hand down his face, leaning back in his chair. Sam is currently choosing flowers and caterers with Skye and Chloe, something he's thankful for. With her mind on the wedding, it prevented her from poking into whatever problems he has found himself in with the business. And...with Sonny.

Having spent the last day and a half going over the information that Elizabeth gave him, Jason was forced to admit that he really didn't know Sonny as well as he thought he did. The look in her eyes told him enough, there was more that he didn't know, and he wants to find out what that is. Especially because it deals with Sonny.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"What?" Jason snaps, not wanting to deal with any guards at that point in his day.

"Jason, its me." Robin's voice catches him by surprise. "Sonny told me you were here...can we talk?"

"Uh, yeah...give me a sec." he replies, snatching the file and locking it in his desk before opening the door. "You okay?"

"Yeah." she replies, smiling slightly. "Just wanna talk. Can I come in?"

"Sure."

Stepping aside, Jason waits long enough for her to get inside before shutting the door. She hasn't dropped by like this in little over a year, which raised his suspicions slightly when he saw the look in her eyes. Something was definitely off with her and he wasn't sure if he really wanted to know. Not atop of everything else he has just learnt.

"Here." Brenda hands Elizabeth a cup of tea. "You look like you can use it."

"Thanks." she replies, shifting her hair to rest over her left shoulder, taking a deep breath before drinking some. "I don't know why its hitting me this hard. Its been over a decade...I just..."

"You don't have to explain it to me." Brenda reminds her, sitting down beside her and letting Elizabeth rest her head on her shoulder. "I know you better than I know myself, remember?"

"Yeah...I remember." she sighs, drinking some more before setting it down and resuming her position. "I just wish I could be stronger than I am."

"Honey, if you get any stronger, you'll be the Incredible Hulk." she counters. "You're allowed to feel what you're feeling...its only human to be affected like this."

"Do you remember the night it happened?" Elizabeth questions, leaning back against the couch when Brenda moves her to.

"I'll never be able to forget." Brenda assures, softly stroking Elizabeth's arm soothingly. "And believe me, I've tried."

"I had never seen that side of Jason Quartermaine before...it had been a sight to behold." she comments, shutting her eyes. "It was the first time I ever saw the part of him that became Jason Morgan."

"Yeah...that's how I felt when I saw Jason Morgan for the first time." Brenda admits. "The look he always had...it was like that night was frozen in his eyes, but he didn't know why he felt the way he did."

_Jason Quartermaine had been searching for Elizabeth like a madman. She was supposed to meet up with Brenda and Emily at the dance, but she never showed. Of course, the reason he was angry was because it took them most of the night to call anyone about Elizabeth. By the time either of them called the house to check on Elizabeth, it was well into the night. Something both women regretted profusely._

_He went to every local hangout he could think of, but there was no sign of her. Thinking about what path Elizabeth would take, he ended up in the park where he found her badly beaten and obviously raped. His protective instincts kicked in, as well as all the knowledge he picked up during his time volunteering at the hotline._

_At first she couldn't register who he was, she stared at him with absolute fear, shouting at him to leave her alone. To not hurt her. As if he ever could lay a hand on her, she was family to him, he'd never harm her. Finally breaking through the fog long enough, Jason was able to get her to the hospital, against her wishes._

_He didn't care. The son of a bitch wasn't going to get away with it and he'd make sure of that. After promising that he'd stay with her through it all, Elizabeth suffered through the exam and in a way that night changed him forever. Emily and Brenda showed up, but she wouldn't talk. Didn't stop Brenda from demanding alone time with her._

_"I won't ask you how you are." Brenda sits down beside her. "I won't say I'm sorry, because I deserve your anger...I'll never be able to make this up to you."_

_"Just hug me." she whispers, her voice completely broken, and Brenda did. She wrapped her arms around Elizabeth and held her until she asked her to stop._

_"I'll take Emily home and in the morning we can talk about it or not...just know that I'm here for you."_

_"Okay." Elizabeth replies, watching her walk to the door. "This isn't your fault, Brenda."_

_"You'll never be able to convince me of that." Brenda counters. "I'll see you soon."_

_After Brenda left with Emily, Jason refused to leave her side, taking her to a hotel once they allowed her to leave. He knew that it was only a matter of time before the family found out and they'll be all over her, something she wasn't ready for and he wouldn't subject her to it._

_So, through the night, Jason sat up by her bedside in the hotel, the look frozen in his eyes as he watched over her. He asked her if she was uncomfortable, at first, not wanting to add to the fear she was feeling, but he relieved his anxiety with her next words. He makes her feel safe. And that's all it took to have him sitting up, watching over her like a hawk._

_It wasn't until morning that she realized he had stayed awake through the night. His soft blue eyes greeting her when she woke up, a slight smile on his face when her cheeks turn a slight shade of red. Almost forgetting what had happened the night before._

From that point on, up until his accident, she and Jason Quartermaine had become better friends than they had been in the past. Whenever they had any available time, they spent it together, of course that wasn't as much as either liked.

His time was split between his job, his girlfriend, her and the family. Her time was split between her family, the family, school, her art, and him. But they made time for each other. Sometimes he'd just sit with her while she painted or sketched.

Keesha didn't like it all that much, but she learnt to deal with it, too afraid to lose Jason over it. Of course, she lost him anyway after the accident, while Elizabeth found a way to stay in his life. She was always sorry about the fact that Keesha lost Jason, they had loved each other so deeply, if only Elizabeth knew that fate had the same plans for her.

"Sam asked me to be her maid of honor." Robin explains. "She also said you suggested it."

"Yeah...she initially asked Elizabeth...you can see how that was a problem, right?"

"Ex-girlfriend slash maid of honor...yeah. I can see how that's a problem." Robin laughed softly. "I'm just glad I get to be in your wedding."

"Me, too." Jason admits, smiling slightly. "Of course, I'd rather just elope, but its for Lila so..."

"I understand that, believe me." Robin shakes her head. "Anyway, I just wanted to talk to you about that, see if it was true or not."

"Thanks for agreeing to it."

"Maybe I can rope you into being my maid of honor when I get married some day."

"I'm not wearing a dress."

"Okay, okay." she laughs softly. "Man of honor then."

"Find someone you're willing to marry and then we'll talk." Jason replies simply, already thinking of ways to get out of it. "Are you sure everything's okay with you?"

"Y-Yeah." Robin shakes her head. "Everything's fine. I should be heading back to the hospital...I'm glad we got to talk."

"Same here." he says as he walks her to the door, still a little suspicious of the way she's looking at him. "You know my number if you ever wanna talk."

"Speed dial one." she says simply. "Bye, Jason."

Watching her walk onto the elevator, Jason shuts the door to his penthouse, an itching feeling nagging on him to dig deeper. The problem being that he had so many other problems that he still wasn't sure he wanted to know and add it atop of everything else currently bugging him.

Checking in with Elizabeth's guards, making sure that she was safe and at the mansion, Jason pulls out the file on his sister-in-law once again. After reading through the file, he had already deduced that telling Sonny what he knows is out of the picture. Not if everything in the file is true, which he believes it is.

"AJ Quartermaine." his brother's voice comes on over the phone.

"Its Jason." he replies. "Look, I'm only gonna say this once so listen up. Why don't we try this brother thing and have dinner together with our wives?"

"Are you serious?" AJ blurted out, completely shocked. "If you're serious then sure...name the time and place."

"Seven o'clock at The Grill."

"We'll be there." AJ assures. "Thanks for this, Jason...you have no idea how much I need this right now."

"See you then."

Ending the call, Jason tosses his cellphone onto the desk, a part of him truly felt for his brother. Its actually the first time in his entire life that Jason actually cared about what happens in AJ's life. He certain that Elizabeth didn't just come to him because Courtney happened to be Sonny's sister. This was her way of putting him in AJ's life in a way that didn't have him threatening his brother. Touching the tattoo on the side of his neck, Jason tries to hold onto what it stood for and embrace it with all he had in him.

"That's my cue." Brenda sighs when she hears muffled arguing from the patio doors. "You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah." Elizabeth shakes her head. "I'll be fine."

"You're the strongest person I know, Liz." Brenda says with conviction, rising to her feet. "Between you and Jason...you'll be more than fine."

Watching Brenda walk out of the doors to deal with whatever fight has been started, Elizabeth rises to her feet and makes her way to the bathroom. Standing in front of the mirror, Elizabeth remembers why they chose the double dragons, it was meant for more than just a teenage rebellion, something she had to explain to Jason when they had it done.

A dragon on a woman stood for strength that lies below the surface. It stood for a deep power that lay beneath the calm surface, signifying a woman that couldn't be broken. A dragon tattoo on a man stood for respected and admired for his wisdom but feared for his strength. Something that definitely described Jason.

Both their dragons intertwined stood for a relationship that was both strong physically and mentally. A relationship that couldn't be broken because it consisted of two dragons whose strength could overpower any danger that lay in wait.

Too bad it didn't turn out that way. But, just because their relationship didn't survive, it didn't mean that their strengths disappeared or diminished. She's strong and she knows it. She just needs to embrace that strength in order to survive the nightmare she has found herself in.

"Elizabeth Webber." she answers her cellphone when it rings.

"Its Sonny Corinthos." the caller replies. "I think its time we had a nice long chat."


	10. Chapter 10

Standing in Edward's study, Elizabeth paces back and forth in front of Edward's emergency hand gun. She has exactly two hours before she meets with Sonny for dinner, which gave her exactly two hours to figure out what her plan was. With Tom Baker and Joseph Sorrel on her mind, her patience was running thin and Sonny would inevitably get the brunt of her frustration.

Its been a lingering thought for her for many years, shooting Sonny and shooting to kill. Of course, it wasn't her forte to kill people, it was Jason's, but that didn't stop her from imagining it. Sometimes she imagines shooting him, other times she imagined setting him on fire, and - on rare occasions - she imagined strapping a bomb to him and watching him sweat before she set it off. Robin making her way into Elizabeth's fantasies once in a while.

Twisted, maybe, but so very true. Sure, she hasn't imagined it in the last five years, but still...the more time she's spending in Port Charles, the more the past was coming out to haunt her and the more she began to imagine. Staring at the gun, she lets out a weary sigh, knowing that it would have to wait for another day. She doesn't have the guts to kill anyone at the moment.

Taking the gun, Elizabeth places it in her purse, just because she wasn't going to kill him it didn't mean she couldn't protect herself. Storing the case back in Edward's safe, she walks out of the study to store her purse in her room. She still had a good hour before she has to leave to meet Sonny. Enough time to get her head on straight and put on her best poker face.

"Miss Elizabeth." Reginald stops her from walking up the stairs. "Miss Lila would like a word. She's having tea in the living room."

"Of course." Elizabeth smiles slightly, glancing down at her purse before following Reginald. "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes, dear." Lila gestures for her to have a seat. "I had tea with Brenda and Emily the other day while you were painting."

"Ah." she gives as her reply, smiling slightly as she pours a cup for herself after refilling Lila's. "How're you feeling?"

"Stronger today than I was yesterday." Lila admits softly. "But my strength goes up and down from day to day."

"Right." she shakes her head. "I'm glad you're having a good day then."

"You and I both." Lila smiles fondly. "Enough about me. How are your galleries doing? I'd hate to think that you being here has affected your businesses."

"The galleries are fine." Elizabeth assures her, taking a sip of her tea. "I have people I trust handling the day to day of the galleries. Don't worry about my art."

"Okay...then onto a more personal note." Lila agrees. "Have you been by to see your grandmother?"

"No, I haven't." Elizabeth admits, knowing it was pointless to lie. "We're still not on the best of terms."

"She's growing old just like me, dear." Lila points out with a slight smile. "I'm sure she's outgrown anything she held against you."

"Have you met my grandmother?" Elizabeth counters. "If you think I can hold a grudge, you should be there when she sees Sonny."

"You're her granddaughter." Lila retorts. "You should give her the benefit of the doubt."

"If I agree to see her soon, will that make you happy?" Elizabeth concedes, knowing that she would be asking sooner or later, might as well get the jump.

"You've looked to me to stand in her place." Lila tries to explain her reasoning. "I just want you to have her when I'm gone."

"There's no way to create something with my grandmother that even comes close to what we have." Elizabeth counters, knowing what she meant. "You understand me in a way that she never will."

"Never say never, sweetheart." Lila clasps her hand over Elizabeth's. "Anything can happen."

"I'll call her in the morning and set something up, okay?" Elizabeth says softly. "It'll probably be a waste of time, but for you I'd do anything."

"Thank you, dear."

Checking the time, Jason realizes he has to get ready for his dinner with his brother and their other halves. Sam already promised to meet him there, giving him the drive there to think through his plans. He has to find a way to get on a read on AJ's wife and figure out what her angle was. He knows that's what Elizabeth's doing and it didn't hurt to help her out with that.

Touching the tattoo on the side of his neck, he tries to use her relaxing techniques that she had taught him all those years ago. Even after they broke up, he still used them, and they never failed. Sure, sometimes it took a while longer than usual to get it to work, but it always works in the end.

With Sorrel and Baker on one side, Sonny and his sister on the other, and Robin caught somewhere in the middle, Jason needed Elizabeth's relaxing techniques now more than ever. For some reason he felt like he was caught in a web of lies, which made him the fly waiting for the spider to strike - a position he didn't like being in.

Rushing upstairs to get ready, Jason takes a quick shower before getting dressed with his semi-formal wear. If he was going to get anything out of Courtney, he had to be charming and that meant wearing something other than his usual attire. He was on his way out of the penthouse when his cellphone rang.

"What?" Jason answers, waiting long enough for the other person to talk. "She's having dinner with who?"

Ending the call, Jason immediately dials Elizabeth's cellphone, praying that she answers the damn thing.

"Your timing sucks." Elizabeth says in a hushed tone as she eyes Sonny, holding her purse loosely in her other hand. "Don't you have a dinner to get to? AJ said you're trying the brother thing."

"Why are you having dinner with Sonny?" Jason gets straight to the point, jabbing at the elevator button.

"He insisted on it." Elizabeth says simply. "Its not a big deal."

"Unless something changed in the last twenty-four hours, you hate Sonny more than anyone in the world." Jason counters, getting on the elevator and jabbing the close button. "Why would you agree to dinner with him if you can't stand him?"

"Just because." Elizabeth states, refraining from telling him that she hated Robin more. "Look, I'm already here. I'll talk to you later."

"Elizab...dammit!" Jason finds her number and calls her again. "Don't hang up on me!"

"Its just dinner." she says angrily. "I can take care of myself."

Once again she hangs up on him, making Jason's anxiety even worse. It wasn't the fact that she was having dinner with Sonny that had him worried. No. It was the damn tone in her voice that had him on edge. Whenever she used that particular tone, it never boded well for anyone.

"If anything happens, you call me." Jason orders her guards, frustrated beyond belief.

Receiving a firm agreement from the guard, Jason ends the call before getting off the elevator and heading to his SUV, doing the relaxing exercises as he drove away from the building. Making it to the restaurant in record time, Jason puts the SUV in park before heading in. Elizabeth on his mind the whole time.

"Sonny." Elizabeth states, standing in front of the man the only other man that had ever frightened her - aside from Tom Baker.

"Elizabeth." Sonny smirks, rising to his feet. "Have a seat and get comfortable. You're going to be here for a while."

Smiling slightly when one of the waiter pulls out her chair for her, she thanks him before turning her attention to Sonny once she's seated. Placing her purse atop her lap, Elizabeth thinks back to the last time that she ever saw Sonny's face in person, this close. It had been the second time she was ever truly terrified, only she wasn't afraid for herself. She was afraid for Jason.

_Standing outside her studio, Jason laying inside with a bullet wound in his side, Elizabeth stared at Sonny with pure anger, masking the fear the way Jason taught her to. There was a darkness in Sonny's eyes, making his threat that much more frightening._

_"I don't care how you do it, but this thing between the two of you needs to end." Sonny states with a devilish tone. "Your relationship is jeopardizing my business."_

_"Jason will never agree to end things." Elizabeth states. "He loves me...something you're not all too familiar with."_

_"Love is irrelevant." Sonny waves away her protest. "Either end it or the next time he gets shot...lets just say it'll be the last time."_

_"You wouldn't."_

_"How do you think this happened?" Sonny counters. "I'll have him killed before I allow my business to be compromised."_

_"You're a sick bastard." Elizabeth spat, glaring daggers at the man._

_"Just get it done." Sonny states, grabbing her arm to stop her from walking back inside. "And don't even think about telling Jason about any of this...accidents happen all the time in this business."_

_"Screw you." she states, yanking her arm from his grasp before walking back into the studio, back to Jason._

She never did tell Jason about his threats, but she knew him well enough to know what he'd tell her. Calling Sonny's bluff, Elizabeth refused to break up with Jason or even attempt at it. Unfortunately for her, it didn't take long for them to end anyway. In a way that had been far worse than she could have ever imagined.

Staring across at the man who caused her so much pain, Elizabeth listened as he made his not so subtle jabs and threats. She had expected as much when she agreed to have dinner with him, only she had a few tricks up her sleeve that he didn't seem to know about and that had her smiling as he spoke.

"You done?" Elizabeth questions, staring at him curiously. "I've heard all your threats before...you don't scare me anymore Sonny. Stop acting like you do."

"Big words from a little girl." Sonny counters with spite. "You really think Jason can protect you from me?"

"I know he can...but that's not why I'm not afraid." Elizabeth rises to her feet. "I've met a few people over the years that make you look like a two-bit thug. People that buy up all my collections...people that would be upset if I were to disappear. So, try me, Sonny...make your threats, try to hurt me...your not the only mob boss in all the world."

"You're bluffing."

"Am I?" she counters, staring him dead in the eye. "If you believe that, go for it. We'll see who'll be the last one standing."

"I'm not done with you!" he exclaims when she starts to walk away.

"Yeah, well, I'm done with you." she counters, walking out of the restaurant and getting back into her car. "Damn that felt good."

Having dinner with his brother and their other halves had been an eye-opener to say the least. Dropping Sam off at the mansion, Jason went back to his penthouse, needing to think things through. That and he needed to call Elizabeth, apparently she hasn't made it back to the mansion yet.

"Where are you?" Jason questions just as he hears a knock, pulling open the door to find her on the other side. "Get in here."

"No need to be bossy." Elizabeth says, slipping her cellphone into her pocket as he shuts the door behind her. "How did your dinner go?"

"She's a lesbian." he blurts out, needing to get it out, having been thoroughly shocked by the discovery.

"What?" she looked at him confusedly. "Who's a what?"

"Courtney's a lesbian." Jason amends, the look in his eyes telling her that he was serious. "Surprising, right?"

"In a way." she admits. "How did you figure that out?"

"She was staring at Sam and a few waitresses with that look you always accused Robin of looking at me with." Jason says simply. "She's definitely a lesbian."

"Okay...then why marry AJ?" she counters. "What's the point of it all? I mean, she's slept with AJ, that much I'm sure of...why do all that if she's into women?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." Jason shrugs. "I've been thinking about it all night and I'm still drawing up blanks."

"None of this makes any sense." Elizabeth sighs, plopping down onto the couch. "Between Baker and Sorrel to Courtney's marriage to AJ...I just don't get any of it."

"Your turn." he says seriously. "What happened with Sonny?"

"The usual." she shrugs, looking at him simply.

"Elizabeth."

"Jason."

"Why did he want to have dinner with you?" he questions seriously, knowing that something happened, the look in her eyes telling him that much.

"You wouldn't believe me."

"Try me."

"Okay." she stands up to face him. "He threatened me."

"Threatened you, how?"

"How else does Sonny threaten people?" she looks at him frustratingly, turning around and walking over to the mantel. "He said he'd kill me if I even thought about getting back together with you. Something about you belonging with Sam, blah blah blah. Nothing I never heard before."

"He threatened you before?" he looks at her intently, confused by what she had inadvertently admitted.

"Crap." she mutters under her breath, turning to face him. "You know, I always hated that about you."

"Don't change the subject." he says seriously. "Did Sonny ever threaten you before?"

"More than once." she admits through gritted teeth. "In more ways than one."

"Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"Because he threatened me with your life on more than one occasion." she says sternly. "Call me crazy, but I didn't want you to die."

"You should have told me." he says, crossing the room to her. "I would have believed you."

"I know you would've." she says in a hushed tone. "That was the problem...I didn't want you to take him on...I didn't want to lose you."

"You shouldn't have gone to dinner with him." Jason sighs, shaking his head. "With him threatening you...it was a dangerous move."

"I had my own brand of protection." Elizabeth shrugs, pulling out the gun from her purse to show him. "I'm not the same girl that left town all those years ago, Jason. I've picked up a few things along the way."

"Is that Edward's gun?"

"Yeah." she admits, putting it back in her purse before tossing her purse onto the couch. "I'll put it back when I get home."

"Is there anything else that I don't know?" Jason asks her seriously. "Anything from the past that you've kept from me?"

Looking at him, she knew that she couldn't tell him, but she didn't want to lie either.

"Yes." she admits. "But nothing I'm going to tell you right now."

"Elizabeth..."

"I can't, okay?" Elizabeth says seriously. "I just can't tell you...take it or leave it...but that's just how it is."

Something in her eyes told him that it was something that weighed heavily on her heart, the hurt showing vibrantly through her eyes, and that had him feeling the need to push her. Its been a long time since he last pushed her to confess what was hurting her and it looked like he was going to have to do it now.

"Too bad." he says firmly. "Because you're not leaving until you tell me."

"Is that a fact?"

"Absolutely." he states. "One way or another...you're gonna tell me."

"We'll just see about that."


	11. Chapter 11

Getting into his office, Sonny slams the door shut, replaying his encounter with Elizabeth in his mind. She seemed confident, maybe too confident, which had him needing to know if there was any truth to her implications. Calling up Stan, he ordered him to figure out who has bought up collections by Elizabeth and see if there was any legitimacy to her claims.

His entire plan was starting to fall right into place, each step of the plan has finally come into play, and he couldn't risk it falling apart because little miss innocent made a few powerful friends. Rolling his head from side to side, Sonny takes a seat behind his desk.

Until he gets word from Stan, he's just going to assume that she's bluffing and make sure that his plan was still set to go down. Pulling out a few files, Sonny makes call after call, checking in with all the active pieces in his puzzle, knowing that some of them needed to be checked on from time to time.

"What, Sonny?" his sister's voice comes on over the line.

"How're things going?"

"Things are fine." she states. "Stop checking up on me until the time comes."

"I just want to be sure that you're okay with everything, that's all."

"Why don't you fuck a guy and then we'll talk." Courtney counters irritably. "I'm a lesbian, Sonny! That means I like women not pricks!"

"Finish this and you'll be back to screwing your girlfriend." Sonny counters simply. "I'm sure you and your lover can do with the money, right?"

"Stop calling until the time, Sonny." Courtney states. "And when this is done...stay out of my life."

"Fair enough."

Ending the call, Sonny calls up the rest of the players in his little plan, making sure everything was still set. With a slight smile on his face, Sonny hangs up the phone and settles back into his desk chair. Things have fallen right into place, now all he has to do is wait for Stan's report and he'll be able to set it into motion.

"You can stare at me all night, Jason." Elizabeth says simply, meeting his stare with one of her own. "I'm not telling you anything."

"If you want to get home, you will." he counters simply, his arms folded across his chest, leaning against the door.

"What makes you think I care about getting back?" Elizabeth retorts, folding her arms across her chest. "I can just sleep upstairs. Or on the couch...or the floor. I can even sleep standing up if I have to."

"You really want me to do it, don't you?" Jason pushes away from the door. "You want me to push you as hard as I can until you tell me."

"You can push me as hard as you can and I still won't tell you." Elizabeth says simply. "Hell, you can torture me like one of your enemies and I still won't utter a single word...well, nothing near the truth, at least."

"Why won't you tell me?"

"Because I don't want to." Elizabeth states. "Its been my secret since the night we broke up...you didn't care about it then, why should I tell you now?"

"The night we broke up?" he looks at her curiously, trying to remember that night. "So it has something to do with your accident?"

"It wasn't an accident." she snaps, taking a deep breath to control her temper. "And you know that."

"Right...sorry." Jason shakes his head. "What do you want to call it then?"

"I don't care what you call it...just don't call it an accident." Elizabeth states plainly, moving to stand by the window. "It wasn't an accident."

"Why can't you just tell me?" Jason asks seriously, walking up to stand behind her.

"Because I don't want to." Elizabeth stares out the window, trying to banish the memories. "Other than the doctors, only two other people know the truth...well, three if you count that person."

"What person?" Jason asks curiously, turning her to face him. "Just tell me, please."

"No." she states, tears frozen in her eyes. "I'm not telling you."

He was about to say something when his cellphone started ringing, the ringtone that he had set for Stan. With a sigh, he walks away and answers it, knowing that he had to get his argument together before he tried to push for more information.

"What?" Jason answers sternly.

"Just thought you should know that Sonny ordered a specific background check on Elizabeth Webber." Stan informs. "What do you want me to do?"

"Give him the answer he wants to hear." Jason says plainly. "Call me when its done."

"You got it." Stan replies before ending the call.

Tossing his cellphone onto the desk, Jason turns around to look at Elizabeth, something in Stan's tone had him curious. A part of him didn't want to deter from what they were discussing, but, maybe if he played his cards right, he could get her to talk about the other thing.

"Sonny just ordered a background check on you." Jason comments, walking over to her. "Do you feel like telling me what happened at that dinner now?"

"I may have told him that I have a few clients that are well connected, powerfully dangerous, men." Elizabeth shrugs. "And that, if he did anything to me, he'd regret it."

"Were you just bluffing?"

"No." Elizabeth shakes her head. "A good number of my high paying clients are from your world...art doesn't discriminate."

"Who exactly?"

"Yet another thing I'm not telling you." Elizabeth says simply. "They're rather discrete...I take my client list very seriously. The only way you're getting those names is if I end up calling them."

"You weren't kidding." Jason sighs, looking at her intently. "You really have changed."

"What did you expect?" Elizabeth counters. "I don't hold anything against you...not anymore, at least. Doesn't mean we're as good as we used to be, Jason."

The look in her eyes told him enough, she had blamed him for whatever happened to her and that made him want to know even more. He knew things had ended badly between them, but he was starting to realize that he didn't really know just how badly it had ended from her point of view.

"You wanted to see me?" Johnny questions, walking into the office.

"I've called all the others." Sonny says simply, pouring two glasses of scotch. "You, I wanted to see in person."

"Can I ask why?" Johnny questions, accepting the scotch and the chair offered.

"Just because." Sonny states, taking a seat behind his desk. "Act like you've spent the last month off the grid and fill me in on everything."

Downing the scotch, Johnny fills him in on everything that has happened between him and Elizabeth. A part of him felt sick for what he was doing, but it was either this or run the risk of being killed. As he's laying it all out there for Sonny, he watched as his boss's lips turned up into a smirk.

"Good, good." Sonny shakes his head. "So, she trusts you."

"Yeah." Johnny says plainly. "She trusts me."

"Good." Sonny refills Johnny's glass. "Keep it up...the time's almost here."

"Can I get back to work now?" Johnny questions after downing the glass of scotch.

"Go ahead." Sonny says, stopping him before he walks out the door by saying, "Don't get any smart ideas, O'Brien. I won't have you fucking up my plans."

"I won't." Johnny states through gritted teeth before shutting the door behind him.

Returning to his post by Francis, he pulls out a picture of Elizabeth and lets out a sigh. He never wanted to be the one to hurt her, he loved her so much, but he couldn't avoid it. Sonny owned his life and he had no choice but to do what he has been ordered. Even if it meant hurting the one person he never wants to harm.

"Miss her, huh?" Francis guesses, smiling slightly.

"Wouldn't you?" Johnny counters, staring at her picture intently. "I never thought I'd ever have a chance with her."

"Me neither." Francis teases, laughing softly when Johnny glares at him. "What? Its the truth...but she has given you a chance. So, word to the wise, don't fuck it up."

Jason and Elizabeth returned to their staring contest after she ordered a few large pizzas. After she told him that she didn't exactly eat at her dinner with Sonny, he relented and sat back while she ordered her pizza. Now that the call was made and they were just waiting, they've done nothing but stare at each other.

"Thank you." Elizabeth says to the delivery guy, taking the pizza and leaving the paying to Jason.

"You order and I have to pay." Jason shakes his head, handing the guy the money and a tip before shutting the door in the guy's face. "How is that fair?"

"I'd pay if you weren't keeping me captive here." Elizabeth counters, plopping down on the couch. "I'll pay you back if you let me leave."

"Eat your pizza." Jason says plainly, walking into the kitchen to get them something to drink.

"That's what I thought." Elizabeth mutters, pulling out a slice of pizza and taking a huge bite out of it. Damn, pizza tastes amazing when you're starving.

The rest of the night went by and Jason wasn't able to break her. Nothing he could think of worked. She used to be stubborn as hell, but this was a whole different level of stubbornness that he had never seen before. She was adamant on keeping her secret to herself, even if he knew that it would affect his life, as well.

Didn't mean he was willing to let her leave. So, instead of returning to the mansion, they bot fell asleep in the penthouse. Jason, in the room that he shares with Sam, while Elizabeth slept in the guest bedroom down the hall. Both trying to figure out new forms of argument for the next morning.

Elizabeth figures that he'd have to give up sooner or later and let her leave. Jason swears that neither of them will leave until she fesses up and just tells him what the hell happened. Falling asleep in their separate beds, Jason and Elizabeth both fall asleep thinking about the night they broke up.

"I'll tell you what you want to know." Elizabeth says in a hushed tone, standing in his doorway early the next morning, tears frozen in her eyes.

"About your clients?" he guesses, sitting up against his headboard.

"No." she shakes her head. "About us...about what happened."

"What changed your mind?" Jason questions, gesturing for her to sit down beside him.

"Does it matter?" she counters, walking over to sit in front of him instead. "I'm gonna tell you. You should be happy about that."

"It matters to me." he says seriously. "What changed your mind?"

"I dreamt about it last night." she concedes, taking a deep breath. "And the anniversary of that night is coming up soon...a few days from now."

"Yeah...I know." he shakes his head, he always leaves town when the date comes up, but this time he's stuck because of Lila. "I'm just surprised, that's all. I thought it would take more to get it out of you."

"Do you want me to tell you or not?" she counters seriously. "I can keep it to myself till the day I die...its what I had planned to do."

"You know I want you to tell me."

"Okay then." Elizabeth states. "Get comfortable now because you won't be later."

And in that moment, a part of Jason didn't want to know. He didn't want her to tell him because the look in her eyes, the pain and heartache, it was too much for him to bear. The look in her eyes the night before was nothing compared to the look in her eyes now. She's not holding anything back. Her emotions are vibrant in her eyes for him to see as clear as day.

"She was bluffing." Stan tells Sonny, handing him the doctored documents. "She doesn't have any connections to the mob...other than with Johnny."

"Perfect." Sonny says with a smug smile. "Good work, Stan. Expect a bonus in your next paycheck."

"Thanks, boss." Stan replies, leaving a very happy Sonny in his wake when he leaves the office.

"Time to show that bitch who's in charge." Sonny states, shutting the file Stan gave him. "No one messes with Sonny Corinthos and lives to talk about it."


	12. Chapter 12

**_Heart pounding, out of breath, Jason Morgan runs as fast as his legs could take him, he had to see her. For the last two weeks, threats against Elizabeth have sky rocketed, more and more rising each day. He has barely slept, he barely eats, always staying alert for the next thing to happen to her._**

**_From getting kidnapped to drive by shootings, even a car bomb, it seemed that Jason couldn't protect her and not for lack of trying. This latest one is a hit and run, she wasn't hurt that bad, at least that's what Johnny and Francis had told him when he got the call. He didn't care, though. He just had to see her. To know for sure._**

**_Pushing his way through anyone in his way, Jason finally makes it to her floor, finding her laid out in a hospital bed unconscious. His heart drops, seeing her like that again, so soon after taking her home from the hospital just a few days earlier. It was finally time to admit that he couldn't do it. He couldn't protect her._**

**_No matter what precautions he took, no matter how many nights of sleep he didn't get, Jason couldn't protect the one person that meant the world to him. Walking over to sit by her bed, Jason took her hand in his, vowing that this had to end. They had to end. Because if they didn't, the next time just might not be a close call. The next time, she could be gone for good._**

**_"Jason, you need to step outside while we examine her." his father tells him, forcing Jason to oblige._**

**_"The moment you're done, I'm staying by her side." Jason says firmly, glaring at his father. "You understand me?"_**

**_"I'll have a nurse find you when we're done." Alan assures._**

**_"No need." Jason states. "I'll be right outside."_**

**_"We'll take good care of her, Jason." Robin assures, having just started her internship under Alan. "I promise."_**

**_"Sure." Jason states plainly, granting her slight smile that doesn't reach his eyes._**

**_Walking out of the room, Jason runs a weary hand down his face, fighting off the fatigue that has plagued his body. He has managed to track down every threat and put an end to them, but only after she has been hurt and that wasn't sitting well with him. He's supposed to protect her from being hurt, not avenge her after the threat's carried out already._**

**_"Any changes?" Francis questions, walking up to him._**

**_"No." Jason shakes his head. "I can't do this anymore."_**

**_"Can't do what?" Francis looks at him confusedly. "Tell me you're not leaving her."_**

**_"I have to." Jason states, glancing at her through the small window before looking at Francis. "She's not safe with me."_**

**_"And you think she's safer without you?" Francis counters, staring at him intently. "She's already a target...that's not gonna change."_**

**_"You don't know that!" he snaps. "If I push her away far enough...she could be safe. Sonny says that its the best option."_**

**_"Sonny?" Francis scoffs. "You're actually listening to him about how to protect women?"_**

**_"Lily wasn't his fault!"_**

**_"Just like everything that happened to Elizabeth isn't your fault." Francis states, clearly getting angry with Jason. "You're her entire life, Jason! You can't just walk out on her now. Not when she needs you the most!"_**

**_"I've made my decision." Jason says plainly, turning to stare in at Elizabeth. "She's safer without me. I know it."_**

**_"For the record, you're gonna regret this...you won't be able to live with hurting her." Francis sighs, shaking his head. "And once you do this, Jason...there's no turning back."_**

**_"I know."_**

**_Without another word, Francis walks off, returning to his post at the end of the hall. He couldn't believe that Jason was really going to do what he was planning on doing, but Jason wouldn't be deterred. Elizabeth's life is in danger because of him and he needed to put an end to the threats. Leaving her is the only way he knows how._**

"You know the rest." Jason says simply, eyeing Elizabeth intently.

"Yeah...I guess I do." she replies, shaking her head. "Francis was right."

"Your turn." he counters, not wanting to admit that he already knows that.

"Okay." she takes a deep breath, hugging the pillow to her chest. "My turn it is then."

_**Waking up, Elizabeth could feel nothing but pain. Every inch of her body ached, sore from the hit and run, begging for some kind of relief. Turning her head slightly to the side, Elizabeth found Alan Quartermaine and Robin Scorpio standing by her bed. She tries to speak, but it hurt too much.**_

_**"Elizabeth, can you hear me? Its Alan, remember?" Alan braces her face in his hands, making her look at him. "Can you talk?"**_

_**Moving her head slightly, barely noticeable, but Alan felt it and accepted the answer.**_

_**"Okay...then blink once for no and twice for yes...can you do that?"**_

_**Blink. Blink.**_

_**"Good...good." Alan shakes his head. "Is your head hurting?"**_

_**Blink.**_

_**"What about your chest?" Alan questions. "Your scans came back clean, but I just want to know if you're feeling any chest pains at all."**_

_**Blink.**_

_**"Good, I'm glad. That's a good sign." Alan tells Robin to note a few things before returning to his exam of Elizabeth. "I'm gonna count from one to ten. I want you to blink twice when I get to the number that classifies the pain you're in, okay?"**_

_**Blink. Blink.**_

_**"One. Two. Three. Four. Five." Alan waits but no response. "Six. Seven."**_

_**Blink. Blink.**_

_**"Seven?" he questions again, receiving two blinks. "Okay...I'm going to give you some medication for the pain. It should help, but before I do...there's something you need to know. Can you handle the pain long enough for me to tell you about your condition?"**_

_**Blink. Blink.**_

_**"Okay." Alan shakes his head. "As you may recall, you were in a hit and run. The damages you sustained aren't nearly as bad as you may think, none of your major organs were damaged, no broken bones, and we didn't have to do any major surgery to fix your gashes."**_

_**Elizabeth noted the look in Alan's eyes and that made tears spring to hers. Tears that had nothing to do with being hit by that car, no, these tears were a feeling of loss. Before Alan even spoke the words, Elizabeth had a feeling she knew what she had lost. She had a feeling that her life would never be the same. And, thus, the tears fell like rain as the words were finally spoken.**_

"You were..." Jason stared into her eyes, his heart feeling like a thousand pounds in his chest at the sight of her falling tears.

"Yes." Elizabeth says plainly. "I was."

"Why didn't you tell me?!" Jason shoots up out of bed.

"When exactly did you want me to tell you?!" she exclaims, standing up to stare him down. "Between you walking out of my life and cutting off all ties to me? Or when I tried to call you a million times and you ignored each and every one of my calls? Huh?! When was I supposed to tell you?!"

"You could have told me before I ended things." he lowers his voice again. "You should have shut me up or...you should have..."

"I should have, I should have." Elizabeth cuts him off, anger burning through her veins. "You shouldn't have left me! YOU shouldn't have walked out of my life! YOU shouldn't have listened to SONNY of all people! The only thing you had to lose that night was me...I lost you, our baby, and our future, all at once...so don't stand there and tell me what **I** should have done! You think you were going through hell back then? I was living it! Each and every day, I lived through hell, but I never walked away! I never turned my back on you! I NEVER GAVE UP ON US! That was YOU! YOU gave up...YOU walked away...YOU broke my heart and YOU...you destroyed whatever happiness **I** had left!"

Jason didn't know what to say to that. Any anger he had felt towards her had quickly dissipated when she started shouting at him. The way her voice broke in between her accusations, the tears that just wouldn't stop falling, the aching pain in her eyes, it all broke him apart inside.

He just found out, but she has lived through this for ten years. Pretty much alone. Without him to help her through it. Without his comfort or his pain to share in the loss with her. In the end, he did this. He made the choice to end things and, once again, Francis was right. He regrets ending things more than he has ever regretted anything in his life.

Jason's cellphone starts to ring, stopping the little confessional they had going. He wanted to ignore it, but Elizabeth snatched it up, looking at the number before tossing it at him. The anger burned brighter, if that was even possible, after she saw Robin's number.

"Tell your best friend I said hi." Elizabeth states, walking over to stare out the window.

"I can't talk right now." Jason says seriously, answering the phone.

"Is everything okay?" Robin's voice is filled with concern. "Jason?"

"I'm fine." he states. "I'm in the middle of something right now."

"Anything I can help with?" Robin questions, worry filling her entire being.

"No." Jason sighs, running one hand through his hair. "Thank you, but no. I gotta go."

"Can you at least meet me for lunch?" she says quickly before he can hang up. "I just need someone to talk to right now. Please, Jason?"

"Text me the place and I'll be there." Jason concedes. "I have to go, Robin."

"Okay, okay." Robin finally accepts. "I'm here if you need to talk."

"I know."

Ending the call, Jason could see Elizabeth's reflection in the window, confused when she rolls her eyes and scoffs. Tossing his cellphone onto the night stand, Jason walks over to her, forcing her to turn around and face him. Their talk wasn't over yet. Not by a long shot.

"Finish it." Jason says seriously, staring into her eyes, wanting to see the emotions as she finished retelling the past.

"You didn't tell her I said hi." Elizabeth counters, trying to push back the anger, but it was too vibrant.

"Elizabeth."

Once again, Jason's cellphone starts ringing, causing her to arch her eyebrow. Something she had been counting on was the fact that Jason's cellphone rings a lot during the day, making any conversation between the two of them almost impossible to have.

"You should answer that." Elizabeth states plainly. "It could be Sonny."

"Screw Sonny!" he snaps, grabbing his cellphone before walking over to the window and opening it up. "You see this? Watch!"

And, to her surprise, Jason throws it clear out the window. Slamming the window shut, Jason walks back over to stand in front of her, eyeing her intently. There was no way he was going to let their conversation end, not when there was clearly still a lot to be told.

"Finish."

"Fine." she states. "I don't see why the rest even matters by this point."

"It matters."

_**Sitting alone, curled up in bed, Elizabeth was physically shaking, the pain too much to bear. Of all the things for Jason to do, Elizabeth couldn't believe that he had just ended things. Danger. The most stupidest of reasons, yet it was the only one he had.**_

_**"Elizabeth?" Johnny's soft voice spoke from the doorway.**_

_**"Go away." she states, turning on her side, wrapping her arms around herself.**_

_**"I can't." Johnny counters, walking in to sit by her bed. "Not when you're hurting like this."**_

_**"You don't know a damn thing about it." Elizabeth snaps, bringing her legs up to her chest, shutting her eyes fiercely against the tears. "You don't know anything about it."**_

_**"I know what I can see." Johnny's voice is filled with concern. "Talk to me, Liz."**_

_**"I'm tired." Elizabeth whispers in a broken voice. "I just want to be alone."**_

_**"Elizabeth..." he tries again, but receives no response from her.**_

_**"Give her some space, Johnny." Brenda says from the doorway. "She's been through a lot, don't you think?"**_

_**"Okay..." Johnny rises to his feet. "I'm here if you need me, Liz...I'm not going anywhere."**_

_**"Go on." Brenda holds open the door when Elizabeth doesn't respond. "I'll take care of her."**_

_**Elizabeth waited for Johnny to leave knowing that Brenda would get into the bed beside her once he was gone. Doing as Elizabeth had predicted, Brenda slid into bed beside her, wrapping her arms around her, smiling slightly when Elizabeth turned to return the hug.**_

_**Breaking down in Brenda's arms, Elizabeth told her about the pregnancy, that the baby was gone and now she has lost Jason, too. Brenda cursed Jason's very existence before kissing Elizabeth's forehead and just holding her close, knowing that's all she could do.**_

_**"I have to leave Port Charles." Elizabeth whispers against Brenda's neck. "I can't stay here anymore."**_

_**"I'll set it up." Brenda promises. "You know I love you, right?"**_

_**"I know." Elizabeth whispers, shutting her eyes tightly. "If only that were enough."**_

_**Brenda held onto Elizabeth until she woke up the next morning, the pain was still in her eyes, but the tears have stopped. It seemed as if Elizabeth had cried herself dry of tears, unable to produce anymore, no matter how much pain she felt.**_

_**Both women called Jason again and again until she was released, continuing when they got home. Elizabeth called and called while she packed her things, but still no answer. She didn't give up until she was heading out of town, knowing that there was no point after that.**_

_**Leaving Port Charles in her rear view mirror, Elizabeth tossed her cellphone into the glove compartment and focused on the road ahead. Doing her best not to look back. So much pain laid behind her, pain that would never go away, and she just had to run. Fast and far. As far as she could get. As fast as she could get there.**_

"The end." Elizabeth says plainly, turning to walk away when Jason takes hold of her hand to stop her.

"You're still holding something back." Jason stares into her eyes intently. "I can see it in your eyes."

"You're seeing things." she states, yanking her hand free from his. "I just told you that I was pregnant and lost the baby...what more do you want to know?"

"Everything!" he nearly shouts before taking a deep breath. "I know I have no right to demand this of you, but there's a lot of lies going around...I just want there to be nothing left hidden between us."

"Its been ten years, Jason." Elizabeth points out sternly. "Whatever happened in the past...its just that, the past. There's no point in saying anything past what I've already told you."

"You carry it with you day in and day out." Jason walks over to her, taking her hands in his. "As long as you hold onto it the way you are, it'll never be in the past."

"I'm only like this because I'm in Port Charles." Elizabeth states. "Once I get out of this town, I'll be fine."

"Once you get away from me, you mean."

"Don't tell me what I mean." she snaps, staring into his eyes. "You don't know a damn thing about what I mean."

"I get it. You've clearly moved on from what we had." Jason points out, switching gears, watching her eyes for any form of a reaction. "Maybe you really did move past losing our baby...maybe you've already let go the pain."

"I'm not stupid." she counters. "I know what you're doing...and you know that I haven't moved past losing our baby."

"But you have moved past us."

"You're the one getting married." she states, glaring at him. "Not me."

"I know...we've both moved on." Jason shakes his head, doing his best to mask the pain, knowing he could have had a baby with Elizabeth. That they could have had a future...if only. "Something we should be happy about."

"Screw it." Elizabeth mutters, yanking her hands free before grabbing his laptop and bringing up the footage from her private gallery. "After I left here, this is how I spent the first few years...creating a shrine to the love we shared...to the future we could have had...to our life that you put an end to."

Taking the laptop, Jason looked through the footage, seeing painting after painting coming onto the screen. Each and every one are centered around their past relationship, their baby that didn't stand a chance, and the future that she had wanted. Looking at her, he could see that she really hasn't moved past them.

"Every time I think I'm getting close enough to someone to have something like what we had...I never let myself push past that line." Elizabeth states. "Even if you weren't willing to fight for what we had, I could never truly let it go. You were everything to me. And honestly...you still are."

"But you're with Johnny..."

"Johnny knows better than anyone that my heart has been and always would be yours." Elizabeth says plainly, taking a deep breath. "You're the one that gave up on us, Jason. You're the one that walked out and left me to pick up the pieces after you were gone. Me? I was the one that was left holding on to someone that didn't want me. That didn't have the will to fight for me."

Shaking her head, Elizabeth walks over to the door and yanks it open. Glancing back at him, she stares at him for a moment before walking out of the bedroom, and right out of the penthouse. Jason, on the other hand, slumped down onto the bed, staring at the paintings that popped up.

He didn't need Elizabeth to explain them to him, he could see each of them just like a photograph. Not perfectly, but he could see enough. Tears falling from his eyes, Jason mourns the child that they could have had, spending all his time staring at the footage until he couldn't take it anymore.


	13. Chapter 13

Pacing back and forth in her little studio, Elizabeth couldn't help but feel really stupid. That's not right, stupid is too tame, she feels like a freaking idiot! Standing in front of her painting, the one she's been working all this time on, Elizabeth wanted to punch herself in the head. She never should have told him like that. Or yell at him. Or any of the other crap that came out of her mouth.

She just couldn't help it. The words kept falling out of her mouth and it just wouldn't stop. It was like the filter between her brain and her mouth had suddenly shattered, nothing able to stop the words from pouring out. Her anger had nothing to do with Jason and everything to do with Robin.

Of course, it was a lot easier to take it out on Jason because she wouldn't physically harm him. Robin, on the other hand, wouldn't be so lucky. With a heavy sigh, Elizabeth sits down on her stool to stare at her painting, it wasn't finished yet, but it was close enough.

Its late at night, everyone in the house is asleep, giving her the privacy - not to mention peace and quiet - that she needs. Lila tried to tell her to talk to Jason again, to fix things before the distance became too much to repair. Lila had that sweet way about her, always telling her what to do without actually telling her what to do.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Glancing at the door, Elizabeth reaches for the gun by the table, the one that Edward insisted she keep since she already took the initiative to steal it. At first, she had thought he'd be mad at her for taking it, but he seemed impressed that she was able to get it in the first place. Even going as far as to reward her with the gun.

"Who is it?" Elizabeth says from behind the door.

"Jason." the visitor replies, causing her to put the gun back where she had it.

Opening the door, Elizabeth looked at him in confusion, she didn't think he'd be awake. He looked completely drained out and that made her want to knock herself on her ass. He never should have ended things with her, but she always understood the why. Didn't mean she liked it, but she understood.

"Hi." she says in a hushed tone.

"Hi." he replies with a slight smile. "You busy?"

"Not really." she concedes, shaking her head. "You look tired...shouldn't you be asleep?"

"Can we talk?" he questions carefully. "Now that we've both had time to cool off...I'd like to talk a little more."

"Okay." she agrees, taking his hand after shutting the door to her makeshift studio. "Where are we going?"

"The lake." he says simply, walking with her, hand in hand, to the spot by the lake that they had sat at a long time ago.

The walk was done in silence, Elizabeth was too nervous to say anything, having his hand in hers like that just wasn't do anything good for her speech. Jason was thinking about everything that has happened. The past, the secrets he has been let in on, and everything in between.

"I'm sorry." Elizabeth's the first to break the silence, once they're seated by the water. "I shouldn't have told you like that...I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize." Jason shakes his head. "You were right...I never should have made that choice for you. I just..."

"You didn't know how else to protect me...I get it." Elizabeth sighs, turning her body to face him, keeping their hands joined together. "You're not the only one at fault here, Jason."

"What do you mean?"

"I could have told you that Sonny threatened me...I could have told you a lot of things..." she points out, taking a deep breath. "I could have told you about our baby, but I didn't...so, you're not the only one to blame for what happened."

"And maybe I should be mad at you for that." Jason shakes his head. "Maybe I shouldn't even be here, right now, but I am...and you are."

"True."

"Look, I'm just gonna tell you wanted I wanted to talk to you about and then you can go back to your painting, okay?"

"Okay." she says, just so he knows that she's listening.

"You said that the only thing I had to lose that night was you, but I don't think you get how hard it was for me to lose you." Jason says carefully, trying to get her to understand. "Before you, I pretty much had nothing. I wasn't that close to anyone yet...not Emily or Lila...and I had just started to trust Sonny and Robin."

Elizabeth watched with amazement, the level of emotions that played through his eyes, it was like no time had passed at all. He looked at her with that same level of devotion, that same need and desire, that it made her feel like she had gone back in time somehow.

"After that first kiss we shared, I had never felt so alive...you brought me to life, Elizabeth." Jason says seriously. "You opened my eyes and helped me see things in so many different ways. Without even trying, you became my entire life...my entire reason to live. I never wanted to give that up...to give **you** up. I never wanted us to end."

Reaching up his hand, Jason wiped away the tear that had slipped down her cheek, smiling slightly at the fact that she has yet to contradict him.

"Then the danger level hit an all time high and you were getting targeted more and more..." Jason takes a deep breath, trying to keep the memories at bay. "I was living through hell, just like you, and I didn't know how to get out of it. All I knew was that I had to protect you...I had to find a way to undo the damage that my life caused...leaving you was the only way I knew how."

"Like I said...if I would've told you about Sonny..."

"Sure, it would have helped if you told me about Sonny, but I should have seen the danger he posed." Jason concedes. "He was only in your life because of me...and I should have seen the kind of person he was turning into...or the kind of man that he already was."

"You trusted him...why would you suspect him of anything?" she counters, feeling the overwhelming need to reassure him, even after she had pretty much blamed him for everything that morning.

"Still." he sighs. "I just didn't want you to think that it was one sided...you were everything to me. Losing you was worse than being shot...it was worse than almost dying...I lost my reason to live when I lost you."

"What do I say to that?" she counters, looking at him intently.

"You don't have to say anything." he replies, letting go her hand before rising to his feet, only to hold it out to her again. "I want to show you something...will you come with me?"

Taking his hand, without question, Elizabeth allowed him to lead her further into the trees, past the Quartermaine property line. She was curious, to say the least, until she realized where they were headed. That's when her imagination took form and she started to imagine what could be waiting out in this part of Port Charles.

Of course, she wasn't prepared for what she had been brought to, not at all. Standing by Jason, she stared at her dream that has been brought to life. Glancing between him and the two story cottage, Elizabeth just couldn't believe her eyes.

"While you were creating all those paintings about our life...about what we could have had..." Jason smiles slightly before gesturing to the cottage. "I spent my days building this...it took me a while to get everything we had talked about...all the pieces you had envisioned...but I did it."

"How long did it take you to finish it?"

"Five years...give or take." he admits, turning to look at the cottage. "You're not the only one that had a hard time letting go..."

"I guess not." she whispers, staring at the cottage. "Can we go inside?"

Jason spends the next few hours showing her around the cottage, top to bottom, Elizabeth was amazed. It was exactly how she had imagined it, down to the color of the sheets and the style of the toilets. Of all the things for Jason to do after they ended, Elizabeth never would have imagined him building this. Although, maybe she shouldn't be so surprised. He was Jason after all.

"Thank you for showing this to me." Elizabeth says in a hushed tone, standing with him in the living room. "Its good to know that I wasn't the only one that felt we were worth remembering."

"I'm sorry you didn't have me to turn to when you lost our baby." Jason takes a deep breath. "More than anything, I wish I could go back and help you through it."

"You did." she assures. "Whenever I needed to talk to you, I wrote you a letter...it helped. Even if you weren't really there, I could always hear your voice in my head."

"Do you still have them?"

"The letters?" she looks at him curiously. "Yeah...back at the house."

"Can I...can I have them?" he wasn't sure if he had a right, but he asked anyway.

"Sure." she shakes her head. "If you want them...you can have them."

"Thanks."

"So...any other secrets you wanna share with me?" she counters, trying to go for light humor.

"I don't have anymore...this was the last of them." he looks at her curiously. "What about you?"

"Just one more." she admits. "But I'm not sure I should tell you."

"I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess that it has to do with Robin."

"Yeah...it has to do with Robin."

"Just tell me." he insists. "How much worse could it be than the fact that we lost a baby that I didn't know about?"

"Its worse because she's your best friend and..." taking a deep breath, she shakes her head. "And she's the reason we lost our baby."

"What?"

"She was the hit and run driver." Elizabeth elaborates, seeing the pain flash into his eyes. "I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry?" he counters, anger in his eyes. "I can't believe that she...she hit you and she just left you there...you could have died!"

"But I didn't." she retorts. "Its been ten years..."

"If you're thinking about telling me to leave it alone, don't waste your breath." Jason snaps. "I always felt like something changed with Robin after that night...the way she spoke, the way she acted around me...then when she found out you left town, she relaxed...I just can't believe...I wish you would have told me."

"I wouldn't blame you if you hated me." she says in a hushed tone. "You hate it when people lie to you...I've lied..."

"You didn't lie...you just didn't tell me." he counters. "Not the same thing."

"If you say so."

"Is that all?" Jason looks at her seriously. "Is that the last of the secrets?"

"Yeah...that's the last of it." she assures him. "You've finally gotten what you want...no secrets left between us...you regret it, yet?"

"No." he shakes his head. "Because once again, you've opened my eyes and have forced me to see what I've been blind to all this time."

"What are you going to do about Robin now that you know?" she questions as they walk out of the cottage.

"I honestly don't know." he admits, walking beside her as they made their way back to the path.

Silence fell over them, once again, as they walked back to the mansion. Jason wasn't sure what he was going to do with the truth about Robin, now that he knows she had been the one to hit Elizabeth. Everything from the past, every memory he has bottled up, has started to change in form. The secrets making everything that much clearer now that he knows the truth.

"Here." she hands him a small box, standing inside her bedroom.

"How many letters did you write?" Jason looks at her intently. "This isn't light."

"Like I said...I wrote a letter every time I needed to talk to you." she says simply. "I had just lost everything I loved...you know how I get."

"Right." he shakes his head, smiling slightly. "Thank you."

"Sure."

Allowing Jason to pull her into a warm embrace, Elizabeth felt like she could finally let go. Of the hurt. Of the pain. Of everything that she had been holding onto all these years. She finally had what she had been searching so hard for. She finally had closure.

Saying goodnight, Jason took the box of letters at went into Edward's study, knowing the old man was fast asleep and that no one would think to look for him there. Switching on the desk light, Jason sat down with the box of letters, spending the rest of the night reading each letter. One after the other, until there weren't anymore to read.


	14. Chapter 14

_**Dear Jason,**_

_**Its nearing midnight here in No-Names-Ville, USA and I've stopped in at this raggedy motel for the night.**_  
_**I'd continue driving, but I just don't have the strength to go any further. At least, not right now, anyway.**_  
_**If only you could see this place...its worse than the boxcar, that's for sure. The paint on the walls have**_  
_**seen better days. I'm kind of afraid to even sleep on the bed, it looks like it should be torched instead of**_  
_**slept on. I don't even want to think about how many diseases could be contracted from that thing.**_

_**Thankfully, Brenda gave me a portable cot before I left and I won't have to chance sleeping on the bed.**_  
_**One less thing for me to worry about and, believe me, I'm beyond grateful for that. The last thing I need**_  
_**is to worry about something as trivial as where I'm going to sleep.**_

_**I'm not even sure where I'm going from here. Brenda wanted to plan it all out, down to the last detail,**_  
_**but I wouldn't let her. In a way, leaving Port Charles has become more of a search than an escape. A**_  
_**search to find who I am without you. A search to find who I am without the future we had planned. A**_  
_**search to find who I am after losing the one thing we both wanted...after losing our baby.**_

_**Laying here, writing this letter, I just can't wrap my head around it. We could have had a baby, Jason.**_  
_**We could have built our home and raised our child together. So much potential, so much hope, so much**_  
_**life left to live and its all gone. Our Baby. You. Our Future. Its all gone and I'm left here wondering where**_  
_**I'm headed to next.**_

_**The darkness, that surrounds this ratty place, is nothing compared to the darkness I feel inside. Never in**_  
_**my life did I ever think I could feel this empty.**_

_**After being raped, I had felt cold, but that's nothing compared to this coldness, to this darkness. I guess I can finally**_  
_**understand how you felt after you woke up from your coma. How you felt nothing...like you had nothing to feel.**_

_**That's how it feels inside, it feels like nothing. Sometimes I feel like I've lost my heart, like its no longer beating**_  
_**in my chest. After Alan told me I had lost our baby, it felt like my insides were emptied out and I was left hallow.**_

_**I tried placing my hand over my stomach, to imagine for a moment what it would have been like if I was never hit.**_  
_**If we had been given the chance to find out together...how happy you would have been...how happy I would have**_  
_**been.**_

_**Then you walked in and I knew right away that I had lost you, too. The look in your eyes had said it all, but I let you**_  
_**talk anyway. I had to hear the actual words, to know that you were leaving me, so I knew I wasn't imagining it.**_

_**I had wanted to tell you, I tried to get the words out, but they didn't form and then you were gone. You walked out and**_  
_**I sat there frozen. Absolutely nothing left to feel because I had officially gone numb. Tears fell, the pain was there, but**_  
_**all that registered was the numbness.**_

_**Our baby was gone. Our future lost. And then you walked away. A large part of me wants to give up. To just put an end to**_  
_**what little life I had left, but I can't. The fighter in me is pushing me to keep going. To survive one more day. To keep pushing**_  
_**until I find the rainbow waiting for me after this devilish storm. Something Lila had told me to do and I'm hoping its one bright**_  
_**rainbow.**_

_**More than anything, I wish you were here to hold me, to whisper in my ear that everything would be okay. You're the only one**_  
_**that I'd believe and - honestly - I need you more than I've ever needed you before. If only...if only...so many if onlys, but you're not**_  
_**here and I'll learn to accept it. Somehow. Someway.**_

_**Time for me to sleep, Jason. The fatigue is wearing me thin and I have to be out of this place by morning. Back on the road to discovery**_  
_**and who knows where I'll end up next.**_

_**Missing You,**_  
_**Elizabeth Webber**_

_**.**_

_**Dear Jason,**_

_**Last night I dreamt of you and, for a moment, I almost believed it was real. The way you held me close, whispering in my ear, telling me you loved me.**_  
_**It was so heartbreakingly perfect, I just didn't want it to end. My heart cries for everything we had, for everything we lost, and for all we should have**_  
_**been blessed with. I don't know how I did it, but I woke up this morning and continued on my way.**_

_**The day wasn't so bad as I drove out of New York, making my way into the next state, I think its Pennsylvania if I'm not mistaken. I didn't stop for much**_  
_**of anything along the way. Mostly just to gas up and grab something to eat. Other than that, I've been on the road all day. Now, though, I am sitting in**_  
_**some random bed and breakfast, turning in for the night.**_

_**Its really hardest at night, for me, to be alone. Its in the silence of night, as the darkness sets in, that my mind takes me into the memories once again.**_  
_**Remembering our first kiss, our first date, our first dance...all the memories flood me in the silence of night. Reminding me of all I have lost. Of all the things**_  
_**I'll never have again.**_

_**Do you remember the night that you first told me that you loved me? We had just had dinner at the No Name before we took your bike out on the town.**_  
_**We spent hours riding, caring about nothing but the open road and each other. You took me to the boxcar, wanting to show it to me, to show me your**_  
_**first home. You explained how you didn't know what true love was until you asked Lila.**_

_**Other girls would have been freaked out by that, but you couldn't have been more romantic if you tried. You told me that I fit everything Lila had told you.**_  
_**That if she was right and that's what being in love meant, then you were in love with me. I couldn't stop crying as you claimed my lips and kissed me with**_  
_**all you had in you. Do you remember? And even if I didn't need to say it, I told you that I was in love with you, too, and that I always would be.**_

_**Its those memories that haunt me in the middle of the night, as I lay in bed, all alone. All the good that we shared, all the love that we created, all the hope**_  
_**and dreams we had made together. Its all a bittersweet feeling, knowing that we had something special, something worth remembering. Brenda had reminded**_  
_**me of a quote we had read a long time ago. For the life of me, I can't remember where, but now the words echo through my mind all the time.**_

_**How lucky I am to have known someone who was so hard to say goodbye to. That's how I'm trying to think of you. That I was blessed enough to have someone**_  
_**that was so hard to say goodbye to. I do say try because I have yet to truly say goodbye to you. Maybe one day it'll stick and I'll finally let you go, but for now its**_  
_**still a work in progress.**_

_**The time has come for me to slip into a deep slumber, a part of me unsure of whether I want to see you in my dreams tonight or not, but I'll accept either outcome.**_  
_**I hope that wherever you are right now, whatever you're doing, some part of you is thinking of me. Goodnight, dear Jason, until I write again.**_

_**Missing You,**_  
_**Elizabeth Webber**_

_**.**_

_**Dear Jason,**_

_**Today marks the end of the first month on my own. I've started painting again. It seemed like the only comfort the world has to offer me right now and I gladly accept.**_  
_**After selling a few pieces here and there, my name started to float around and soon people have started requesting for me to paint them a certain type of piece. It was**_  
_**definitely a surprise, but I appreciated that others have taken a liking to my artwork.**_

_**It was hard at first, but I've started painting about us and creating pieces that centered around our life that we could have had. With my heart set on starting my art**_  
_**career, you can count on me having one gallery in honor of us. It'll take a while, of course, seeing as I'm just starting out. I don't know if I'll actually get there, but I'm**_  
_**not giving up. My career is the only thing keeping me pushing on when all else fails. Being on my own, its tough, but I'm managing it fairly well. Even if I do say so myself.**_

_**Brenda has stopped by my apartment in Orlando. She's decided to help me sell a few pieces, not taking no for an answer, not that its much of a surprise. She's taken the**_  
_**painting of the Wind, but she promises she won't sell it. I wouldn't give it to her any other way. She assures me that it'll help because it was the most captivating piece**_  
_**in my art collection. Her opinion, but I'm inclined to agree with her.**_

_**The nights are still hard, though, always finding myself dreaming of you. Of our baby. Of all we had and could have had. No matter how hard I try, I just can't shake you**_  
_**from my heart or my mind. You're forever etched into the fabric of who I am and I doubt there's any getting rid of you now. In a way, its comforting, knowing I'll always**_  
_**have that...the love we shared and all we had been.**_

_**And, one day, maybe, I'll actually think of you without crying or feeling a stinging pain. Maybe one day I'll be able to just accept we weren't forever and move on, but**_  
_**that day is not today and my heart still cries for you. For everything we were. For everything we could have been. If only you could be here, to see all I have done, and**_  
_**share in the start of my art career.**_

_**My time in Orlando will be coming to an end soon and then I'll be back on the road. I've yet to find what I'm truly looking for, not that I know what it is, but I won't stop**_  
_**until I find it. For now I'm going to call it a night and crawl into bed with the expectation of yet another dream of you. Till I write again, Jason, I hope you're doing well.**_

_**Still Missing You,**_  
_**Elizabeth Webber**_

_**.**_

Letter after letter, Jason starts to put together what her life was like after she left Port Charles. From the start of her career up until two years ago, Elizabeth wrote him letter after letter. Sometimes days apart, sometimes weeks, a few of them months apart. Without fail, though, she continued to write. Telling him about what its like starting off her career. The photo shoots, the gallery showings, and the many calls from different galleries around the world that wanted a few of her paintings to show in their collections.

She tells him how her heart was starting to heal, but how she still missed the baby they lost. She tells him about making it to Italy, how excited she had been, but how incomplete it had felt without him there. She tells him that whenever she imagined making it to Italy, he was the one that took her there. She tells him how she imagined them walking the cities, going to the back roads of the country and seeing things off the beaten path.

With every letter, he felt like he was there, experiencing it all with her. The last letter caught his heart in a tight grip, reading as she tells him that she had to stop writing to him, knowing that she'll never send the letters. That she needed to stop holding onto him and the comfort he gave, even if he wasn't there. She tells him that she had to learn to stand alone, without the thought of him, and that it was finally time to accept he was gone. Like the first few letters, this letter is soaked in tears, making his heart ache for her.

The sound of his phone ringing, pulls Jason's mind out of the letters and back into the world around him. Glancing at the clock on his grandfather's desk, Jason realizes that its already morning, well into the morning actually. With a sigh, he grabs his cellphone and answers it.

"What?" Jason answers, frustrated with everything.

"I never wanted to say this, but Elizabeth's in danger." Francis says seriously, standing in Johnny's apartment.

"From Sonny...I know." Jason states, anger growing inside of him.

"Right...but, I wasn't talking about Sonny." Francis shakes his head, holding up a medicine vile. "I was referring to Johnny."

"What?!" Jason shoots up from his desk.

"I just found Elizabeth's guards tied up in Johnny's apartment and a vile of some sort of sedative." Francis says carefully, glancing over at the knocked out guards. "I never want to believe he'd hurt her, but..."

"Untie the guards and wait for my call." Jason states, shoving all the letters into the box before walking out of the study. "I'm gonna see if anyone here has seen or heard from her."

After searching around for her or anyone else in the family, Jason couldn't believe his ears when the Cook told him Lila had been rushed to the hospital after her morning tea. Shaking his head, Jason rushed out to one of the family cars, not having a choice since Sam had taken his vehicle.

Torn between Elizabeth and Lila, he had a choice to make. If he goes by Elizabeth, she'd tell him to check on Lila. If he goes by his grandmother, she'd tell him to do whatever it took to bring Elizabeth back home. Neither one really helping the situation, Jason tried to think things through as he drove.

It couldn't be a coincidence that Lila falls ill when Elizabeth goes missing. Sure, her health was failing her, but this felt way too much like a set up. Deciding that he had to figure out what happened to Elizabeth, he calls up Francis to have him meet up at the penthouse.

Calling Monica along the way, Jason found out that Lila was weak, but she'd recover well enough. He had asked her if anyone had seen Elizabeth, only to be told that Johnny had picked her up that morning, before Lila fell ill. Which only served to raise his suspicions further. Obviously, whatever Stan doctored up for Sonny had him satisfied enough to put his plan into motion. It was the only obvious answer to all his burning questions. Making the solution that much clearer...the only solution...putting an end to Sonny.

And, if Johnny really is the one that did the kidnapping, Jason will have to put an end to him, as well. Glancing over at the box of letters, Jason's heart ached over the fact that she was in danger because of his life again. Slamming the gas petal into the floor of the car, Jason sped to the penthouse. He had to find a way to get her back before he starts thinking up ways to kill those responsible.

**A/N: For those who asked, yes, I do take suggestions for stories. **  
**I know I haven't said this yet, but I truly do appreciate the reviews you've been writing.**  
**They make me inspired to continue. Hope you like it thus far and continue to review.**  
**Take care,**  
**-ROCkER**


	15. Chapter 15

This was it, their part in her brother's sick and twisted plan has finally come to an end. All that is left is to divorce AJ after the old bat croaks and they'd be home free. The money they'll get from Sonny and their other scams will make them set for life. Never again will they have to work for anything. They'll have it all with no one the wiser.

Watching the Quartermaine family, she snarls with resentment. They're lucky that she wasn't the one that chose the drug. If it were up to her, the old bat would be dead. Her girlfriend, on the other hand, has suddenly grown a conscious and begged to switch the choice in cocktails. Something Courtney will have to discuss with her when they get some time alone and away from all the nosy busybodies.

Walking away from the Quartermaine mushy moment, Courtney decides that it's time to figure out their exit strategy. No point in going halfway now that they're in the home stretch. She made it as far as the elevator when she was stopped by Emily and Brenda.

"Going somewhere?" Brenda questions bluntly, eyeing her intently.

"Cafeteria." Courtney outright lies, making both women highly skeptical. "Would you like me to get you something?"

"We were just heading that way." Emily points out, looking at her curiously. "Why don't you join us? Family should stick together at a time like this, right?"

"Right!" Brenda replies before Courtney can retort, stepping to the side when the elevator doors open. "Well...lets go."

Swallowing whatever she had wanted to say, Courtney walks onto the elevator with both women, reluctantly following them down to the cafeteria to eat. She was certain that neither knew her part in anything, but that didn't stop her from being wary. These two are highly aware of a lot of things and being in their presence wasn't good for her at all.

"Please, stop looking at me like that!" Johnny exclaims, standing by the window, hoping to see his relieve soon. "You think I wanted this? I didn't!"

Elizabeth wasn't sure what was going on, but she knew enough to know that Sonny was involved. It was one of the reasons she felt the need to take care of Johnny. Whenever Sonny tells him something to do, Johnny jumps on it, not giving a care to his own well being.

If she cared enough, at this point, to think about Johnny's standing, she'd understand why he was doing it. Only problem was that she didn't care about his standing anymore. Not when she's tied to a freaking chair, gagged no less, and her wrists are starting to chafe.

"This is my job." Johnny mutters, moving the curtain to the side an inch, looking outside for the millionth time since they got there. "You know what its like being in my position...the kinds of things we're forced to do...the kinds of things we're ordered to do."

"MMETHICEXCMM!" Elizabeth exclaims through the duck tape over her mouth.

"What?"

"MMETHICEXCMM!"

Shaking his head, Johnny removes the tape from her mouth. "What?"

"Pathetic excuse!" she snaps, ignoring the sticky feeling the tape left on her mouth.

"Its not a pathetic excuse." Johnny stares at her intently. "I never wanted this!"

"Oh, please!" Elizabeth states irritably. "For once in your life, Johnny, man up! You did this! Not Sonny! YOU! You kidnapped me, tied me up and have decided to keep against my will! That's all you, Johnny! No one, but you!"

"You think I like doing this?" he moves to kneel down in front of her. "You think I like the fact that I'm hurting you? You're the last person I ever wanted to do this to...but there's no way out for me. Not anymore."

"No matter what you say, Johnny...no matter how much you want to convince me otherwise...this is all on you." Elizabeth says plainly, staring at him without emotion. "Whatever happens to me - whatever comes of this - you'll be the one that'll have to live with it for the rest of your life. You'll go to sleep and wake up every day wanting to rid your memory of this, but you'll never succeed because you know this is wrong. And for that reason and that reason alone, I feel sorry for you."

Jason was trying to figure it out, trying to piece together Sonny's mentality and the plan he must have been putting together for the longest time, but it just wasn't fitting together. Not Sorrel and Baker or Sonny's sister...none of it was making any sense. There was no way that it was a coincidence though. Sorrel and Baker popping up as a threat at the same time Sonny makes a move against Elizabeth. It couldn't be.

"What's our first move?" Francis questions, watching him intently.

"The only move I know to make." Jason states, wishing he could just find Johnny and get Elizabeth back. "Find out if Baker really escaped or if he's dead...and then find me Sorrel. I'll take it from there."

"You got it." Francis assures, walking out of Jason's penthouse and leaving him to his own accord.

There was just so many factors that Jason couldn't even process much of what he had to do. With Brenda and Emily keeping an eye on Courtney for him, AJ giving him hourly updates on Grandmother, and Francis settling the threat of Baker/Sorrel, all he had to do was figure out how to take down Sonny and rescue Elizabeth. How hard could that be, right?

One thing he was sure of, all the pieces fit together somehow, the only thing to do was find a way to put the picture together and end this nightmare once and for all. After ten years, Elizabeth life hangs in the balance once again and it was up to him to save her. To bring her back and finally put an end to the one threat he had never seen coming. To finally put an end to Sonny.

"You want me to what?!" Johnny blurts out, talking to Sonny on the burn phone.

"Do I pay you to ask questions?" Sonny snaps, downing a shot of whiskey. "Just get it done!"

"But..."

"Now, Johnny!" Sonny shouts. "Get it done, now!"

Before Johnny could protest at all, the line goes dead and he's left to accept the latest order from his boss. Dropping the phone back onto the table, Johnny glances at the door to the room that he had Elizabeth in. One thought running through his mind as he stared at the door. What the hell was he supposed to do now?

While Johnny contemplates his next move, Francis is figuring out the truth about Baker and Sorrel. Taking the information he has gathered, Francis returns to Jason's penthouse, finding his friend in the same shape he had left him. Jason had the look of a man with his heart in a vice, making Francis pray to all that's holy that they find Elizabeth safe and sound.

"You were right." Francis concedes, shutting the door behind him. "Baker's dead...but so is Sorrel."

"What?" Jason looks at him like he had lost his mind. "What do you mean Sorrel's dead?"

"Tino has taken over the business." Francis proceeds to tell Jason about everything he had found out.

"So this was all Sonny from the very start?" Jason slumps down onto the couch. "Ever since Elizabeth and I were still together...up until now...it was all him?"

"Pretty much." Francis admits, watching the pain intensify in Jason's eyes. "I also found the one place that Johnny just might run to."

"What are the odds?" Jason shoots up from the couch.

"Better than other places I've thought of." Francis replies, pulling open the door. "Only one way to find out."

"Lets go."

The drive felt like it lasted for eternity, but soon enough they arrived at the one place that Francis could think of. It held a lot of meaning to Johnny, something that he was certain met the same level of emotions that he felt for Elizabeth. Not that Jason wanted to hear that. At the moment, Jason didn't care that Johnny loved Elizabeth. As far as he's concerned, any man that can do what Johnny has done didn't know the meaning of loving a woman.

"Where is she?!" Jason shouts at Johnny when they find him inside the small house.

"She's gone." Johnny says plainly, tears frozen in his eyes, sitting still on the small club chair.

"What the hell do you mean she's gone?!" Jason shouts, grabbing Johnny and slamming him up against the wall. "Where the hell is she?!"

"Jason!" Francis nearly shouts, gaining Jason's attention before holding up the shovel. "There's blood in here...a lot of it."

"She's gone." Johnny mutters, staring into Jason's eyes. "She's gone."

**A/N: I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in a long time. Life's just hectic right now...so much has been going on, but I won't dump it on you all.**  
**I wanted to put a couple chapters together for you while I had some downtime. I'll do my best to update as much as I can, but it won't be often.**  
**I'm still a Liason fan, I'll never give up on them, but my life's just beyond crazy right now. I hope you're all doing great...take care.**

**- ROCkER**


	16. Chapter 16

Tossing more than a few logs into the fireplace, she starts a fire to warm up the almost freezing cold cottage, a part of her almost touched by what the place symbolized. Rising to her feet, Sam glances around the living room, almost too amazed by the beauty the small place possessed. Before she had been with Jason, she never would have been touched by gestures like this. Maybe it was only because Jason made the gesture that Sam is so touched by it.

Knowing Jason the way she does, she knows what kind of love it must have taken for him to do something like this, for him to build up the relationship they had created even though she was long gone. With a soft sigh, she turns to look at the true love of Jason's life.

If she had really been in love with Jason, she'd have been sorely offended by the love that the two of them clearly shared, but she wasn't in love with Jason. Sure, she loves him, but nothing in the world could ever make her fall in love with him.

Elizabeth, on the other hand, she could definitely picture falling in love with. She was just too perfect that it had initially pissed Sam off to no end. When Sam first met Elizabeth, she wouldn't have hesitated to have her killed, but not now.

Now, after a long conversation with a very talkative brunette, Sam just couldn't imagine the young brunette dead. It was just too big of an injustice. Which made her relationship with her girlfriend that much harder to keep afloat. If only she could see her now.

"Shhh..." Sam kneels by Elizabeth's head when she begins to stir. "Just rest. You're safe...I swear it."

"S...Sa...Sam?" Elizabeth whispers through her haze.

"Yeah." Sam smiles slightly. "You're safe, Elizabeth. Just rest. I won't let anyone hurt you."

As her eyes slid shut again, Sam rises to her feet to make her way over to the chair by the window, determined to keep watch over Elizabeth. She'll get word to Jason soon enough, for now its on her to keep the young artist safe.

If someone had told her even a month ago that she'd be doing this, would have laughed in their faces until she was doubling over. Maybe her girlfriend was right, maybe she has grown a conscience, but she didn't care. For some reason, Sam actually likes having one, as crazy as that sounds.

_Hours Earlier:_

_"I'll handle it." Sam tells Sonny, slipping into her coat as she heads out of the hospital._

_"Make sure O'Brien doesn't fuck this up." Sonny states firmly. "I can't afford another slip up from him."_

_"Don't worry, Sonny." Sam says, getting into Jason's SUV, eyeing the bags of blood on the front seat. "I'll make sure everything goes according to plan."_

_Ending the call, Sam tosses her cellphone into the bag before starting up the car and heading to the place that Sonny had pointed out. Her plan was simply unfolding as she went, which left some room for error, but Sam wouldn't take any chances. She had to pull this off without being found out._

_Getting to the small house, Sam peeked in through the window, finding Johnny in the middle of handling the business. She had to hand it to him, Johnny really was a heartless bastard if he could do that to someone he claimed to love. Securing the bag in one hand, Sam opens the door, taking Johnny by surprise._

_"What are you doing here?" Johnny looked at her accusingly._

_"Sonny sent me." Sam drops the bag to the side before shutting the door. "He didn't think you had it in you."_

_"I'm almost through!" Johnny states, glaring at her. "I just need to inject the last needle and she'll be dead."_

_"I'd have been done by now." Sam shakes her head, walking up to him. "You always were a little slow on the uptake."_

_"What are you doing?"_

_"What you are to chicken shit to do." Sam pulled out her gun, slamming in against Johnny's head, hard enough to knock him. "I'm gonna save her."_

_Grabbing the bag she carried in, Sam gets to work to stage her little kill scene. Having killed enough people, she knows enough to stage a legitimate murder scene without an actual body to prove death. She was certain that they wouldn't be able to run DNA samples fast enough, so she simply got blood with Elizabeth's blood type. Not too bad for a last minute rescue mission._

_Once she had set the place up perfectly, Sam walks back out into the living room, lifting Elizabeth up into her arms and carrying her out to Jason's SUV. It pulled on her heart strings to see the lively brunette like that, but Sam knew that she'd be fine. As long as the last needle wasn't injected, Elizabeth would be fine. She's sure of it._

"We can't assume its her blood!" Jason snaps, staring at the bloody floor, his heart caught in his throat. "She's not dead! She can't be!"

"Well, seeing as you beat Johnny to death, how do we find out if its real or not?" Francis counters, looking at him intently. "The only people that know what happened in this place are Elizabeth, Johnny, and Sonny."

"Then Sonny it is then." Jason turns away from the blood. "She's not dead."

"How do you know?"

"I just do." Jason slams the front door open. "She's not dead."

"What are you going to do?" Francis trails after him. "Just knock on his door and ask him where Elizabeth is?"

"That's one way." Jason states plainly. "She's not dead, Francis, and the only person that knows anything is Sonny. Unless you know something I don't know?"

"I'd never do anything to hurt Elizabeth." Francis snaps at him. "In case you've forgotten, I'm the one that told you not to leave her!"

"Exactly." Jason says simply. "Which leaves Sonny...you coming or not?"

At the hospital, Courtney was finally able to get away from Emily and Brenda by going to the bathroom. She was growing angrier by the minute, having to listen to their little sap stories about their grandmother, she was ready to explode. AJ won't even help her out of it. The jackass finds it amusing.

"Where the hell are you?" Courtney snaps into her phone, getting her girlfriend's voicemail again. "Whatever the hell you are doing, it better be worth me sitting through hours of back in the day stories! I swear to God, if you don't call me back...UGH! You better call me when you get this. I mean it...call me back!"

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Everything okay in there, Courtney?" Brenda's voice questions through the door.

"Yeah! Just a minute!" Courtney flushes the toilet before groaning. This had to end soon. It just had to.

**A/N: Let me know if you saw this coming...can't wait to hear from you.**

**- ROCkER**


	17. Chapter 17

Sitting in the hospital room with Lila, the two of them could tell that they weren't fooling the elder woman in the very least. No matter how much they wanted to convince her that everything was okay, that there was nothing to worry about, and that Elizabeth was simply off somewhere like she usually was when she got a burst of artistic inspiration, the two of them couldn't keep the lie afloat if their lives depended on it.

"The truth." Lila looks at them seriously. "No one else will give that to me...I need the two of you to be who you are and be honest with me."

"Elizabeth went missing the day you were taken to the hospital." Brenda finally concedes, letting out a deep sigh. "No one has been able to find any trace of her...its like she just vanished."

"And Jason?" Lila looks at them with hope.

"He's been looking for her ever since." Emily assures her grandmother. "He'll bring her home, grandmother. He won't stop until he does."

"Exactly...he's always had a knack for saving her." Brenda says, desperately needing to believe it now more than ever. "Jason'll find her and bring her home. I know it."

The three of them join hands, each wanting to believe that everything will turn out okay, unable to accept any other outcome. Elizabeth had to be okay. She had to be. With Jason out looking for her, it had to be only a matter of time before he finds her and brings her home. Only a matter of time.

"What the hell took you so long?!" Courtney practically shouts into her cellphone. "I've been calling you for ages! Where the hell are you?!"

"I had to handle something for Sonny." Sam gives as her excuse, glancing over at Elizabeth. "I've been laying low until the heat dies down...I'm sorry I didn't call sooner."

"What did he make you do?" Courtney questions through gritted teeth. "I swear if he's put you at risk...god help him, I will kill that son of a bitch with my bare hands!"

"I'll be fine, babe, I promise." Sam says with certainty. "I just need to lay low until it blows over."

"Yeah...you do that." Courtney sighs, staring at the door to the bathroom. "I promise, baby, this is the last one. We're out of the game after this, I swear it."

"I know." Sam says softly. "Is everything okay with you? What was with the urgent message?"

"Nothing I can't handle." Courtney assures, groaning when a knock sounds at the door. "Just watch your back...none of this will mean anything if I don't have you to share it with in the end."

"You watch your back, too." Sam counters. "I'm looking forward to that beach in Cabo that has our names on it...I'll see you soon."

"I better." Courtney says seriously. "You know I love you, right, Sam?"

"Right back at you, babe." Sam says simply. "I have to go, but I'll call again when I can."

"Okay." Courtney sighs, listening as the line goes dead, flushing the toilet before slipping her cellphone into her pocket. "Sonny's a dead man."

Walking out of the bathroom, she's rejoined by her watchdogs, Chloe and Skye. For two women that hated each other before the old woman's stupid plan, they were working really well together in keeping her busy. It didn't matter, though, not anymore. As long as Sam's safe, she'll find a way to shake free of these people once the timing's right.

"That was a risky move, but at least I have her lulled for now." Sam says to Elizabeth, who's still unconscious, shaking her head before checking Elizabeth's vitals. "Now I need to figure out how to get word to Jason."

Satisfied with Elizabeth's vitals, Sam heads into the kitchen to fix up some soup, hoping to get her conscious long enough to get something in her system. All the while, trying to figure how to get word to Jason that the love of his life is safe and sound without raising any flags.

There was no telling how paranoid Sonny is in regard to his plan that using her cellphone wouldn't do. If only Jason would have installed a phone in this place. Of course, she doubts he expected anyone to use the place. Of course, that didn't stop him from installing a state of the art security system...

"That's it!" Sam smiles slightly to herself. "Why didn't I think of that sooner?"

Shutting off the stove, Sam decides to put off her plan for a little while longer, needing to get something in Elizabeth before she sets her plan into motion. Once she gets a signal out to Jason, she doesn't want to be caught anywhere near Elizabeth, which meant getting the woman to eat before she leaves her.

"S...Sam?" Elizabeth's hushed voice whispers her name.

"Hey...I made you soup." Sam says carefully, helping her to sit up slightly. "I know its hard to stay awake, but I need you to eat something, okay?"

"S...Sam..."

"Its not hot...a little warm, but it should be okay." Sam says, scooping a spoonful of soup out of the bowl. "Please, try to eat it."

She doesn't get a vocal response, but Elizabeth opens her mouth slightly, her eyes connecting with Sam's. Taking that as acceptance to the soup, Sam does her best to feed Elizabeth, thankful when she finally gets one spoonful into Elizabeth's mouth and she swallows it. It took a great deal of effort, but Sam was able to get her to finish the bowl of soup.

Setting the bowl down, Sam got her to drink some water before Elizabeth succumbed to the fatigue and fell back into a deep slumber. For a couple hours, she simply sat down beside Elizabeth, watching for any signs that the soup would come back out the way it went in. Thankfully, after a long few hours, Sam was satisfied that the soup hadn't made an encore appearance.

"Okay." Sam says, rising to her feet. "Time to get word to Jason."

Jason and Francis were preparing to confront Sonny when his cellphone started to ring, not recognizing the number off hand, he assumes it has to do with Elizabeth and answers it, hoping against the odds that this was a miracle call. The voice that comes on over the line squelches that hope when they identify themselves as the security agency.

"Wait...what?" Jason stops Francis from heading into the warehouse. "What do you mean the alarm was triggered at my estate?"

"You have an estate?" Francis questions, standing by as Jason gets the information from the agency.

"No...no, that's okay." Jason says seriously. "You don't need to send the police...I'll go check it out for myself. Its probably a false alarm...thanks."

Taking off to the SUV, Jason waits for Francis to get into the car before he speeds off to the cottage that he had built in honor of his relationship with Elizabeth. The whole way there, Francis had to grip onto the handle bar and the seat belt because Jason was speeding the whole way and hitting every sharp turn dangerously. Taking the back way, not wanting to take the route of the Quartermaine estate.

Hearing the SUV approaching, Sam whispers her goodbye to Elizabeth before ducking out the back, watching as Jason and Francis both get out of the car and head over to the cottage. With a slight smile, she shakes her head, seeing the love and concern etched into Jason's features. More than anything, she hopes that they could find their way back to each other. They deserve it.

"Elizabeth." Jason breathes a breath of relief, setting his gun down on the floor as he kneels down beside her, gently brushing away the hair that had fallen over her cheek. "Oh, thank god."


End file.
